The state has a new contractor to make tags for lobster traps, a year after a manufacturing problem delayed the distribution of tags.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources awarded the one-year contract to Cambridge Security Seals of Pomona, N.Y., after competitive bidding.
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Stoffel Seals, which had supplied the tags for nearly 20 years, bid for the new contract but was not chosen.
Abric North America and Advertising Specialists also submitted bids, the Department of Marine Resources said.
Last year, a manufacturing problem at Stoffel delayed production of license tags for lobster traps, forcing hundreds of lobstermen in New England to wait weeks to set their traps for the season.
“While we were disappointed in the state’s decision to choose another vendor with no experience in this program or any program like it, we genuinely wish the state and the hardworking lobster fishing community a prosperous and successful season in 2013,” said Ralph Mallozzi, vice president of sales and marketing with TydenBrooks security products group.
Stoffel Seals is a division of TydenBrooks.
“We hope to work with them again in the future and will be ready to do so if and when the opportunity presents itself,” Mallozzi said.
The contract, awarded in November, will pay Cambridge Security Seals 6 cents per tag. The total value of the contract will depend on how many tags are issued.
Last year, there were about 4,500 commercial lobstermen, who can fish with as many as 800 traps.
Staff Writer Jessica Hall can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:
jhall@pressherald.com
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