Saving Seafood

MAINE: Lobster union looks to White House for help

October 31, 2022 — A local Maine Lobstering Union member expects to meet personally with President Joe Biden to ask him to prevent the destruction of Maine’s lobster industry.

Ginny Olsen, MLU’s political liaison, said she will ask President Biden to prevent federal agencies from imposing draconian whale-protection rules. The White House meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet, she said, but she is meeting virtually with representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on October 27.

“I’m throwing any Hail Mary I can think of,” Olsen said in a phone interview.

Getting the president’s attention

Olsen sent a letter last month to Biden saying NOAA is denying climate-change science that shows right whales moved out of the Gulf of Maine.

She further pointed out Biden has ordered federal agencies to review regulations issued during the Trump presidency to make sure they are in line with the science. In Executive Order 13990, Biden directed agencies to address those rules that don’t comply with his administration’s policies—which include listening to climate-change science and creating good-paying union jobs. NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service have ignored that order, Olsen wrote.

She said she was hoping to appease both environmentalists and lobster fishermen with that argument.

After the letter was sent, she said, “We were contacted for further information, which we provided.”

Something else may have gotten the White House’s attention—a letter and press release from Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, calling out Biden for reneging on his campaign promise to save Maine’s lobster fishery.

“You cannot espouse being a president for working people while simultaneously overseeing the destruction of an entire blue-collar fishery and its community’s heritage and way of life,” wrote Golden in a letter dated October 5. He asked for a meeting with Maine’s congressional delegation and lobster industry representatives.

Read the full article at Penobscot Bay Press

Feds unveil plan to grow wind power while sparing rare whale

October 31, 2022 — The federal government has outlined a strategy to try to protect an endangered species of whale while also developing offshore wind power off the East Coast.

President Joe Biden’s administration has made a priority of encouraging offshore wind along the Atlantic coast as the U.S. pursues greater energy independence. Those waters are also home to the declining North Atlantic right whale, which numbers about 340 in the world.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a draft plan this month to conserve the whales while allowing for the building of wind projects. The agencies said the ongoing efforts to save the whales and create more renewable energy can coexist.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

U.S. agencies propose to protect whales while building wind power

October 26, 2022 — Federal agencies have put out a new plan to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whales, as the government promotes aggressive development of offshore wind energy projects.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and National Marine Fisheries Service released their joint strategy  Oct. 21 “to protect and promote the recovery of North Atlantic right whales while responsibly developing offshore wind energy.”

The announcement initiated a 45-day public review and comment period on the draft strategy. Comments on the guidance can be submitted online via regulations.gov from October 21 to December 4, under Docket Number BOEM-2022-0066.

The plan comes out amid turmoil in the commercial fishing industry over NMFS plans for gear and area restrictions in the Northeast lobster fishery to reduce the danger of entanglement with whales. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is challenging the plans in federal appeals court, as NMFS looks toward potential restrictions on other East Coast fisheries that use fixed gear like fish pots and gill nets.

Meanwhile opponents of offshore wind projects have set their sights on the right whales’ predicament as a strategy to use for challenging wind developers and federal agencies in court. Activists and lawyers organized by the Heartland Institute, a frequent critic of renewable energy programs, say right whales could be key to a challenge of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MARYLAND: ‘Going to be tough’: Fishermen sound off on expanded speed limits to protect right whales

October 25, 2022 — A proposal of expanded speed limit areas along the East Coast to protect right whales and their calves had Ocean City fishermen crying foul in a Thursday meeting with Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st-Md.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is proposing a federal rule that would expand the current 10 knot speed restrictions on boats 65 feet and longer to include all boats 35 feet and longer.

The rule would also expand the speed restriction zone from current right whale calving areas to the entire East Coast, from Massachusetts to Florida.

“Instead of decision makers getting educated on (our job), we’re just told to do something with no steps in place to explain why,” said Jacob Wainglass, a charter fisherman in Ocean City. “Where we fish is no short trip. It’s anywhere from 50 to 90 miles where we’re going. So when you add in those (speed limits), that is three quarters of a day just in transit and it’s not practical for us. Our days as fishermen are already long enough.”

Read the full article at delmarva now.

Endangered whale’s decline slows, but population falls again

October 25, 2022 — The decline of an endangered species of whale slowed last year, as it lost about 2% of its population, but scientists warn the animal still faces existential threats and is losing breeding females too fast.

The North Atlantic right whale’s population was more than 480 in 2010 and fell by more than 25% over the following decade. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, a group of scientists, government officials and industry members, said Monday that the population fell to an estimated 340 last year.

That is a decline of eight animals from the previous year, when the population was initially thought to be even fewer. The whales are vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in commercial fishing gear, and they have suffered from poor reproduction and high mortality in recent years.

“The reality is we are still seeing unsustainable levels of human impacts on the species,” said Heather Pettis, research scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and executive administrator of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. “We’re still injuring these animals to a point where it’s not just about survival. It’s about health, it’s about reproduction.”

Read the full article at ABC News

Lobstermen may get temporary delay on new right whale restrictions

October 25, 2022 — Maine lobstermen may get a temporary break on new rules aimed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. But it will be up to a federal judge in Washington, D.C. to decide.

The lobster industry, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are involved in federal court negotiations over imposing new and tougher restrictions on fishing.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

North Atlantic right whale population continues to shrink, according to latest report

October 25, 2022 — The number of North Atlantic right whales has dropped to 340, down from 348 in 2020, according to numbers released today. The population has been shrinking for a decade, though the rate of decline might be slowing slightly.

The report from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium also notes that there were only 15 calves born in 2022 — fewer than the 18 born in 2021.

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“Females aren’t having calves until they’re much older, if at all,” said Heather Pettis, research scientist in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and executive administrator of the Consortium.

She blames the low birth rate, at least in part, on the stress and injury whales experience when tangled in fishing gear. Entanglements and ship strikes are the leading causes of death for right whales.

Read the full article at wbur

North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy Open for Public Comment until December 4

October 25, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a joint draft strategy to protect and promote the recovery of North Atlantic right whales while responsibly developing offshore wind energy. The draft strategy is now available for public comment no later than December 4, 2022. It outlines how the agencies will collaborate and improve science and information to support the Administration’s goal of developing offshore wind while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. The draft strategy will also provide offshore wind developers with guidance on mitigation measures that will assist them in navigating the regulatory process.

“As we face the ongoing challenges of climate change, this strategy provides a strong foundation to help us advance renewable energy while also working to protect and recover North Atlantic right whales, and the ecosystem they depend on,” said Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries and Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA. “Responsible development of renewable energy sources and protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales are priorities both agencies share.”

NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to protecting and recovering North Atlantic right whales. Their population includes fewer than 350 individuals and fewer than 70 reproductively active females and has been experiencing an Unusual Mortality Event since 2017. Climate change is affecting every aspect of right whales’ survival—changing their habitat, their migratory patterns, and the location and availability of their prey. It is even increasing their risk of becoming entangled in fishing gear or being struck by vessels.

Offshore wind development is also rapidly expanding along the Atlantic coast of the United States, especially from Massachusetts to North Carolina. North Atlantic right whales’ habitat and migration routes are primarily in Atlantic coastal waters on the continental shelf where offshore wind leases exist or are planned. Working together on this draft strategy leverages the resources and expertise of both agencies and allows the agencies. It will allow us to collect, apply, and use the best available scientific information to inform offshore wind management decisions.

“This draft strategy focuses on improving the science and integrating past, present, and future efforts related to North Atlantic right whales and offshore wind development,” said Dr. Jon Hare, the Director of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and one of the lead authors of the draft strategy. “We also identify preliminary mitigation measures related to offshore wind energy project planning, leasing, and siting, site characterization,  and unexploded ordnance surveys, construction and operation, and project-specific monitoring, and are looking for public comment on these measures and on the strategy overall.”

The draft strategy also identifies project-specific and regional preliminary monitoring measures. These mitigation measures include the types of requirements that regulatory agencies and project proponents consider for individual projects, thereby assisting offshore wind developers to navigate the permitting process. The list of measures is not comprehensive and does not supersede measures that may be required by the agencies during regulatory processes such as construction and operations plan approvals, Endangered Species Act consultations, or incidental take authorizations.

Following review of public comments, the draft strategy will be finalized. The final strategy will be a living document, periodically evaluated and updated as new information becomes available.

View the draft strategy and information on how to submit comments

The ambitious deployment of offshore wind energy is a critical component of U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis and build a clean energy economy. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to addressing the nation’s climate crisis by deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

BOEM is the lead federal agency responsible for offshore energy exploration and development in the United States. To date, BOEM has leased approximately 1.7 million acres in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. Outer Continental Shelf for offshore wind development. There are 25 active leases in the Atlantic from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras.

NOAA Fisheries works with BOEM, other federal agencies, tribes, state agencies, and stakeholders to assess how offshore wind projects affect endangered and threatened species, marine mammals, fisheries, marine habitats, and fishing communities, and protect these important resources.

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