Saving Seafood

Around 340 North Atlantic right whales remaining as population continues to decline

October 25, 2022 — The population of North Atlantic right whales dropped 2.3 percent over the past year to an estimated 340 individuals, according to a report released Monday, 24 October by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.

The downward trend was influenced by “ongoing human impacts that are hindering the critically endangered species’ ability to survive and reproduce,” according to the consortium, which was founded in 1986 by the New England Aquarium and partners from the University of Rhode Island, the Center for Coastal Studies, Marineland of Florida, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a collaborative means to better understand and protect the species. The group now has approximately 100 members that are engaged in right whale conservation efforts.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Interior, NOAA ink right whale and offshore wind strategy

October 25, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries and the Interior Department released a draft strategy Friday to protect the endangered right whale amid an imminent boom of offshore wind development.

The draft lays out a plan for both agencies to engage with the public and ocean users. It also spells out several primary goals for raising wind turbines while trying to recover the whale’s population, such as prioritizing mitigation, new research and monitoring, and improving communication.

“BOEM is deeply committed to ensuring responsible offshore wind energy development while protecting and promoting the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale,” said Amanda Lefton, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a subagency of Interior.

Read the full article at E&E News

Commentary: For Seafood Watch, facts apparently don’t matter

October 22, 2022 — Maine’s lobster industry is renowned for harvesting the sweetest, most tender lobster meat in the world. Our rocky coastline, craggy ocean bottoms and water that is neither too warm nor too cold set us up perfectly for the Homarus americanus, or American lobster, species we harvest. They are the most sought after in the world, and even inspired the name of a restaurant chain.

Maine’s iconic crustacean is not only a billion-dollar industry, but also a part of our state’s ethos and heritage. We’ve been fishing for these “bugs” since the 1800s, and the industry was one of the first to self-regulate when fishermen adopted a rule 150 years ago to protect the fishery by returning egg-bearing females. Size and other limitations have been put in place since to ensure the population’s sustainability.

Lobstering can be a hazardous profession, too. The typical season for most of Maine’s lobstermen is June to October when lobsters are closer to shore in their preferred habitat of up to 164 feet of water. When the water gets cold, however, they can move as far as 30 miles offshore where conditions are more challenging and dangerous for fishermen.

Read the full article at the Ellsworth American

Court agrees to fast-track Maine lobstering group’s appeal of whale rules

October 22, 2022 — A federal appeals court has agreed to expedite the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s appeal of a National Marine Fisheries Service decision aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that all briefs from both sides must be submitted no later than Jan. 10. Once that step has been completed, oral arguments will be scheduled. The court gave no indication of when that might occur.

Read the full article at the Press Herald

Why critically endangered female whales struggle to reproduce

October 14, 2022 — The North Atlantic right whale is currently one of the most endangered whale species, listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A new study from researchers at Macquarie University, Ursinus College and the New England Aquarium has uncovered why this species has been rapidly declining in population over the past 8 years, attributing the decrease to a growth in human and fishing interferences in their natural habitats.

MAINE: In Portland rally, lobstermen urge state to sue feds over regulations

October 13, 2022 — More than 350 lobstermen, their families and supporters rallied on the Portland waterfront Wednesday afternoon, calling for the state to sue federal regulators and stop proposed rules the fishermen say will decimate their industry.

One politician who attended the event, Republican U.S. House candidate Ed Thelander, went so far as to say working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is like negotiating with a rapist.

Those who went to DiMillo’s on the Water restaurant were encouraged to visit a website, donttreadonmainelobster.com, to send a message to Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, urging him to launch a lawsuit that would challenge the requirements. The mandates, intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, would include restrictions on where lobstermen can place their traps and the need to use new equipment that breaks away if a whale is entangled in the gear.

Read the full article at the Press Herald

MAINE: Maine lawmakers snap over lobstermen’s impact on whales

October 13, 2022 — As federal regulators look to impose limits on fishing lines that can entangle an endangered whale species, a bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers is rallying to block rules they say could tank the state’s lucrative lobster industry.

And as part of the effort, they’re threatening to take federal funding away from one of the country’s most prestigious marine research centers after it urged consumers last month to stop eating lobster until better protections for the North Atlantic right whales are in place.

“North Atlantic right whales have been entangled numerous times in U.S. lobster gear over the last decade, and in the last three weeks we’ve seen a North Atlantic right whale known as Snow Cone, with gear not yet linked to a specific fishery, and reports of a humpback whale that was entangled in Maine lobster gear,” said Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, vice president of global ocean conservation at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

The aquarium’s Seafood Watch, which makes recommendations for maintaining sustainable fisheries, issued an advisory in early September urging consumers to stop eating American lobster, placing the U.S. and Canadian catch on its “red list” of seafood to avoid — the worst category of listing behind green (best choice) and yellow (a good alternative). Some restaurants and retailers, including the popular meals delivery service HelloFresh, stopped offering lobster after the advisory was posted.

Read the full article at Roll Call

Seafood Watch’s ‘red’ listing ignores Maine lobstermen’s conservation efforts

October 12, 2022 — Marianne Moore of Calais represents Maine Senate District 6. She is the Senate Republican lead for the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

Maine’s lobster industry is renowned for harvesting the sweetest, most tender lobster meat in the world. Our rocky coastline, craggy ocean bottoms and water that is neither too warm nor too cold set us up perfectly for the Homarus americanus, or American lobster, species we harvest. They are the most sought after in the world, and even inspired the name of a restaurant chain.

Maine’s iconic crustacean is not only a billion-dollar industry, but also a part of our state’s ethos and heritage. We’ve been fishing for these “bugs” since the 1800s, and the industry was one of the first to self-regulate when fishermen adopted a rule 150 years ago to protect the fishery by returning egg-bearing females. Size and other limitations have been put in place since to ensure the population’s sustainability.

Lobstering can be a hazardous profession, too. The typical season for most of Maine’s lobstermen is June to October when lobsters are closer to shore in their preferred habitat of up to 164 feet of water. When the water gets cold, however, they can move as far as 30 miles offshore where conditions are more challenging and dangerous for fishermen.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

Maine Lobstermen’s Association seeks expedited federal appeal

October 12, 2022 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said Tuesday it has hired former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to bring the association’s appeal of the new National Marine Fisheries Service rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The association is challenging what it calls the “scientifically-flawed federal whale plan that will cripple Maine’s lobster industry.” Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the President George W. Bush administration from 2004-2008, “is widely recognized as a leading Supreme Court advocate, focusing on appellate matters, constitutional litigation, and strategic counseling,” the MLA said in a prepared statement

“When we said we refuse to let a single judge’s decision be the last word and that MLA is preparing to go all the way to the Supreme Court, we weren’t kidding,” said MLA president Kristan Porter, a commercial fisherman from Cutler, Maine. “We are incredibly grateful that Paul Clement, arguably the most qualified attorney in the nation on these matters, has chosen to stand with us.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman