Facing what it believes is a depletion of lobsters, the ASMFC could take other steps, including cutting the allowable lobster intake.
New Jersey fishermen say the state has put controls in place and further curbs are not needed. State measures include relatively tight restrictions on the size of lobsters that can be harvested and the existence of 110 commercial lobstering licenses, only 51 of which are active.
Since the ASMFC stopped distributing commercial licenses in 2001, the only way to get one is to wait until someone sells it or, as happens more often, inherit one.
"There's a limited number of lobster licenses - that's a great idea," said Stillufsen, whose family owns Red's Lobster Pot on the harbor in Point Pleasant. There also are regulations regarding the minimum and maximum lengths of the lobsters, she said.
Other lobstermen fear what they think is overzealous conservation.
"We'd rather keep it the way it is, because it's really helping a lot," said Celeste.
The elder Horvat, who has been in the business for 37 years, said that to find lobsters, scientists must ride with lobstermen. He said he regularly takes state scientists to sea to conduct population surveys, and criticized the ASMFC for not, in his estimation, taking advantage of seasoned lobstermen's knowledge.
"Their science is one-minute science," he said. "They could come down on a boat and get 30 years' experience, but they won't."
ASMFC said it receives data from surveys conducted by individual states. Kerns said the ASMFC is a body that brings East Coast states together to regulate fishing and discuss issues that affect all members. The lobster decline has been a trend for years, she said.
