The iconic Maine lobster fishery has earned Marine Stewardship Council certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery after a rigorous five-year review process. Maine Gov. Paul LePage made the announcement Sunday at the International Boston Seafood Show.
“The Marine Stewardship Council’s certification will provide the Maine lobster industry with a globally-recognized seal of approval,” said LePage. “This certification recognizes our longstanding practices of good stewardship and ensures that every lobster caught in Maine waters can be marketed not only as delicious, healthy food, but also as a resource that meets the most stringent international environmental standard for seafood sustainability.”
Speaking at the Shucks Maine Lobster booth (No. 2353), Patrick Keliher, commissioner for the Maine Department of Marine Resources, called Sunday a “great day for Maine’s lobster industry and the many communities it supports. We have a world-class, sustainably-harvested resource and we’re tremendously proud that it is receiving MSC certification and excited for the opportunities it provides.”
Known officially as the American lobster, (Homarus americanus) the Maine lobster fishery predominantly occurs in Maine’s three-mile territorial waters in the area designated as Lobster Conservation Management Area 1 (LCMA 1).
Fishermen use baited lobster traps, called pots, which are lowered to the sea floor and are constructed to allow smaller lobsters to easily exit the trap. The fishery dates back several centuries predating the United States of America and is the backbone of the towns and villages dotting coastal Maine.
In 2012, landings of Maine lobster were approximately 57,000 metric tons with a value in excess of USD 500 million (EUR 385 million).
The Maine lobster fleet is comprised primarily of small vessels between 22 and 42 feet in length that are operated by one or two people. The number of Maine lobster fisherman has remained steady at approximately 6,700 licenses for more than half a century.
The client for the assessment and certification is the Fund for the Advancement of Sustainable Maine Lobster of which John Hathaway, president of Shucks Maine Lobster, is chairman.
“Today’s seafood buyer ’expects’ their seafood to be sustainable,” said Hathaway. “MSC certification required Maine lobster to meet the most stringent sustainable seafood standards in the world. From this moment on, Maine lobster is no longer the ’sustainable secret’ of seafood.”
The independent, third-party assessment process against the MSC standard was conducted by Intertek Moody Marine which made the final determination that the Maine lobster trap fishery should be MSC certified as a sustainable and well-managed fishery.
