You asked what is the status of the state's lobster population restoration effort known as the v-notch program.

SUMMARY

Public acts in 2005 and 2006 established a lobster v-notch program and provided potential program funding, which became available in late 2006. Implementation of the v-notch program is currently delayed, however, while appropriate insurance coverage can be procured, and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) indicates the earliest the program can begin is late May 2007.

PA 05-281 required the DEP commissioner to establish a lobster restoration program. Under the program, the tails of mature female lobsters that licensed commercial fishermen land are marked with a v-shaped notch and then released in order to increase lobster egg production. The law requires lobstermen who subsequently catch such lobsters to throw them back, giving them more time to breed. The act requires contractors to accompany participating commercial fishermen on fishing trips and mark mature female lobsters tails. The act required the commissioner to adopt implementing regulations and allowed her to select a contractor to implement the program. DEP's commissioner chose to contract students from three state high schools with aquaculture related curriculums.

Under PA 06-187, once the Lobster Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approved a lobster v-notch restoration program with conservation values equivalent to current (or future) requirements for Long Island Sound by November 1, 2006, then all of the FY 07 appropriations the state made for lobster stock recovery and conservation were allocated to the v-notch implementation. (The state is bound by ASMFC rules and regulations (CGS §§ 26-295 et seq. ). ) The board approved the program in late 2006 and DEP, which had been working with an advisory committee established under the act, began to implement it with $ 1 million the legislature appropriated.

Both acts seek to provide relief to the state's lobster industry, which is still recovering from a massive lobster population drop-off in 1999.

V-Notch Program Status

PA 05-281 required the DEP commissioner to establish a lobster restoration v-notch program to increase lobster egg production. The act required DEP to compensate, if funds became available, each commercial fisherman who (1) lands, has marked, and releases lobsters and (2) reports it as required by law.

To pay for the program, the act required the commissioner to do whatever was necessary to apply for, qualify for, and accept any federal and state funds for lobster restoration or related acts, projects, programs, or activities. She was to administer the funds in accordance with applicable federal or state law. She could enter into contracts with the federal government or any state government for using, maintaining, and repaying the funds. State funding was released upon ASMFC approval in late 2006.

The act allows the DEP commissioner to select a contractor to implement the program. Contractors must accompany participating commercial fishermen on fishing trips and mark mature female lobsters tails. The law specifies that DEP is not responsible for training, insuring, or supervising the contractor's employees and that only they may notch the lobsters. It also specifies that (1) the contractor cannot employ the fishermen to mark lobsters on fishing trips during which they are participating in the program and (2) DEP must compensate the contractor on a per trip basis, not per lobster.

The DEP commissioner chose high school students as contractors for the v-notch program. As of February 2007, DEP was set to start the program with students from three of the state's schools with aquaculture and biology focused curriculums. The schools are the Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture School, the Sound School (New Haven), and Ella Grasso Southeastern Technical High School (Groton). However, insurance considerations delayed the program, which at the earliest will begin in late May 2007, according to Eric Smith, DEP's Marine Fisheries Division Director. Specifically, an insurance agent strongly recommended that lobstermen have additional coverage for the safety of the children and their vessels. But Bridgeport school system officials have had difficulty obtaining insurance to cover the added liability for the lobstermen of having high school students on their vessels, because underwriters were reluctant to take the risk, Smith said.

Timeline for Potential Late May 2007 Start

According to Smith, several steps must take place by mid-May for notching to take place this spring/summer, that is, before the water is too warm. This includes the need for (1) the insurance issue to be resolved, (2) a contract to be re-written by DEP and the Office of the Attorney General, (3) the Bridgeport School Board counsel to subsequently approve and Superintendent of Schools to sign it, (4) DEP's Business Office to confirm fund availability, and (5) the Attorney General to sign off on the final contract.

Smith noted, “given this rather ambitious schedule, it is likely that only a limited amount of effort could be undertaken before water temperatures result in a suspension of activity until November (given the cooler than normal temperatures this spring, it is possible that we could notch well into July). ” Any molestation, such as notching, makes lobsters susceptible to death when water temperatures reach 20 degrees centigrade or 68 degrees Fahrenheit, Smith said.

LOBSTER V-NOTCH LAW

Lobster Restoration Advisory Committee Established under PA 06-87

The act established a Lobster Restoration Advisory Committee to advise the DEP commissioner on the development of a lobster v-notch conservation program to enhance recovery and rebuilding of lobster stock in Long Island Sound.

The 11-member Lobster Restoration Advisory Committee includes:

1. the DEP and agriculture commissioners or their designees;

2. the state's administrative, legislative, and governor-appointed commissioners, to ASMFC; and

3. one representative each from the (a) Southern New England Fishermen's and Lobsterman's Association, (b) Connecticut Commercial Lobstermen's Association, (c) Long Island Western End Lobstermen's Association, (d) state vocational aquaculture school known as the Sound School in New Haven, (e) state vocational aquaculture school in Bridgeport, and (f) Connecticut Seafood Council.

The DEP and agriculture commissioners jointly appoint committee members, after receiving nominations from the above listed groups. The committee elects its own chairman and any other officers and adopts procedural rules, as necessary.

PA 05-281 - Lobster Restoration Program

Participation and Reporting. Under the act, only state residents licensed for commercial fishing by DEP can participate in the program. Each participant must be selected based on the area fished, the seasonal nature of the fishing, and the volume he landed before applying to participate in the program.

The law requires fishermen and contractor employees to sign a statement certifying the number of lobsters landed, marked, and released as part of the program for each trip. They must collect and submit to DEP all information it deems necessary to verify compliance with the program.

The law requires that all lobsters landed, marked, and released under the program be allocated to the fishermen as catch for any other state or federal lobster management program.

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