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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
October 12, 2022 — A rally to support the lobster industry was held in Portland on Wednesday.
Organizers are trying to raise awareness as fishermen fight strict restrictions from the government. Those rules are meant to protect the vulnerable North Atlantic right whale.
October 12, 2022 — Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday directed $100,000 in state money toward the appeal of a federal ruling that upheld new fishing requirements designed to protect right whales.
The decision, handed down in early September, went against the Maine Lobstermen’s Association in its bid to roll back the new fishing requirements. The association and state filed an appeal saying that the ruling was based on flawed data, and the regulations are too punitive to the lobster industry.
In a statement, the Democratic governor said federal regulators are moving “heedlessly ahead to implement new rules that would devastate Maine lobstermen,” so the appeals court must quickly move to “prevent further damage” to the iconic industry.
October 12, 2022 — Maine lobster fishermen have hired a former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice official to represent them in their case against new laws intended to protect whales.
The solicitor general supervises all Supreme Court litigation for the U.S., and Clement has argued dozens of cases in front of the high court. That’s where the lobstermen’s case could ultimately be headed, he said Tuesday.
October 12, 2022 — On a Wednesday afternoon last month, Sam Sewall snagged a lobster from a trap in York Harbor in Maine, and measured its carapace like a shoe salesman sizing a squirmy toddler’s foot. About 100 miles to the south, New England Aquarium marine scientist Sharon Hsu peered through the bubble windows of a small plane flying off Cape Cod, searching for whales. And in an alley behind Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay, chef Michael Serpa received a delivery of 20 pounds of fresh lobster tail, knuckle, and claw meat.
Out on the water, Sewall and his father, Mark, pulled up six traps in 90 minutes. After sizing and surveying each lobster, they tossed most back — they were too small, or breeders — and returned to dock with just a dozen lobsters. Sewall grimaced. New federal regulations on lobster fishing were likely coming, Sewall knew, and he worried about what they would mean for his livelihood.
Up in the air 15 miles off Nantucket, Hsu spotted the telltale heart-shaped blow of an endangered North Atlantic right whale. It swam slowly, with several rope lines trailing behind it.
Hsu had seen this whale before, similarly entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It was Snow Cone, and this was her fifth entanglement. Hsu knew Snow Cone would not likely survive.
“It was like a punch in the gut,” Hsu said, echoing a lobsterman she’s never met.
Meanwhile, Serpa took the lobster meat and began cleaning, chopping, and prepping it for that night’s dinner. There were lobster rolls and lobster spaghetti to prepare to fill the eager bellies of his guests. Demand has been so strong lately, he can practically name his price.