September 21, 2022 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said it will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that new restrictions on their fishery can proceed to protect endangered right whales, calling the plan “scientifically flawed” and “draconian.”
In an opinion issued Sept. 8, U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg turned aside the lobstermen’s arguments that the National Marine Fisheries Service acted arbitrarily and overstated the hazard their gear poses to whales.
The association had sued NMFS and allied environmental groups to block implementation of the new rules. It was the latest in several years of action in Boasberg’s Washington, D.C. courtroom as NMFS, environmental groups and fishermen battled over measures to protect the right whales – now estimated to number just about 340 animals – from entanglement in fishing trap lines.
“We refuse to let a single judge’s decision be the last word,” MLA President Kristan Porter said in announcing the new appeal. “The facts are clear. Maine lobstermen are not driving the whale towards extinction. There has never been a known right whale mortality associated with Maine lobster gear, and there has not been a single known right whale entanglement with Maine lobster gear in nearly two decades.”