enlarge The Associated Press

Lobstermen set their traps last month off Cundy’s Harbor. The industry is arguing against a recommendation to slash the herring catch next year because it would cause a shortage of bait, but scientists say it’s necessary to keep the herring population healthy.

PORTLAND — Maine's struggling lobster industry is bracing for more trouble.

Fishery managers from around the Northeast met Tuesday in Portland to discuss deep cuts in the herring catch for 2010. No final decisions will be made until November, but scientists are calling for a 53 percent reduction from this year's catch limit because of uncertainty about the health of the population.

Herring is the primary bait used in millions of lobster traps, and any shortage of the small, silvery fish is sure to push bait prices higher, at a time when lobstermen are getting the lowest prices in decades for their catch.

"This will be a catastrophe for the lobster industry," said Dave Cousens, a lobsterman from South Thomaston and president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association.

The herring fishery is one of the most contentious in the Northeast because so much depends on the species.

A small fleet of Maine boats caught about $8.3 million worth of herring last year, according to state data. Most of the catch is sold as bait to the state's $244 million lobster industry, while a smaller portion is used for canned sardines or other processed fish products.

Herring also is an important food source for a variety of fish and marine mammals, and keeping the population healthy is considered critical for other valuable species, including cod, tuna, striped bass and whales.

This year, the region's herring catch limit is 194,000 metric tons, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. A panel of scientists recommended last month that next year's limit be 90,000 metric tons.

Rather than pointing to evidence of a decline in the population, the scientists cited "substantial uncertainty" about the population assessments and said managers must use caution, at least until more research is done.

To some, herring's vital role in the ocean means it's safest to follow that advice.

"I realize the ramifications," said Gary Libby, a groundfish fisherman in Port Clyde. But, he said, "we don't want to damage it so it's even worse the following year. I think we should go with the science."

Herring fishermen and lobstermen argued against the cuts.

"If we ever did go to (90,000 metric tons), it would create a big hardship up and down the coast," said Glen Robbins, a herring fisherman from Eliot.

Federal law may ultimately give fishery managers little choice but to follow the advice of the scientists. But members of a New England Fishery Management Council subcommittee said Tuesday that they, too, feel the restrictions would be too severe.

"It just seems so indefensible," said David Pierce, a council member and deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. "We will dramatically impact the sea herring fishery all along the coast, (and) we will have dramatic impacts on the lobster fishery."

A majority of the committee members voted with Pierce that the council should consider disregarding the scientific advice and setting a catch limit of 145,000 metric tons for 2010.

Soon after that vote, however, they began discussing how to divide 90,000 tons among various fishing areas along the coast from Maine to New Jersey.

"It's grim," said Terry Stockwell, a committee member and the director of external affairs for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. "There's no way to sugarcoat it."

Stockwell said the herring fleet would take the most direct hit. The lobster industry, meanwhile, would have to switch to alternative baits, such as redfish or menhaden.

Cousens, the lobsterman, said a shortage of herring would immediately raise the price of bait and make it even harder for Maine's 7,000 lobstermen to stay in business. Lobstermen are now getting $2.50 to $3 a pound for their catch, down from $4 or more before the global recession hit last year.

And finding abundant alternatives to lure...