Saving Seafood

NOAA has imposed USD 1.1 million in fines over right whale speed limits since 2021

October 16, 2023 — NOAA is stepping up enforcement of vessel speed limits when endangered North Atlantic right whales are on the move, using satellite technology and even highway patrol-style speed radar to nab violators.

In the period between 2021 and 2022, NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) brought 19 complaints against vessel operators for exceeding a 10-knot speed limit that the agency declares in “seasonal management areas” from November to July as the right whales move off the U.S. East Coast. The agency levied USD 218,500 (EUR 207,000) in penalties on those operators.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

More whales are dying. Conspiracies are leading to threats against the rescue teams

October 4, 2023 — For the past seven years, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has been monitoring a spike in whale strandings along the entire East Coast.

The agency has declared the ongoing situation an “unusual mortality event,” or UME, for humpback whales. More than 200 humpback strandings have been reported since 2016 along the eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Department says it has conducted partial or full necropsy examinations on about half the whales, with 40 per cent of those examinations showing evidence of human interaction, such as entanglement or ship strikes.

But theories about offshore wind energy projects contributing to the deaths have risen alongside the strandings, despite the NOAA rejecting those claims.

Read the full article at Calgary Herald

Environmental groups demand emergency rules to protect rare whales from ship collisions

October 3, 2023 — A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the federal government to enact emergency rules to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with large ships.

The groups filed their petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Sept. 28 in an effort to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The whale, which can weigh more than five school buses, numbers less than 340 and has been in steep decline in recent years.

Ship collisions are among the most dire threats to the survival of the whale, according to NOAA. The groups cited a proposed rule from the agency designed to prevent such ship strikes by making more vessels slow down for whales. NOAA has yet to release a final updated speed rule despite proposing new rules more than a year ago, the environmental groups said.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Nantucket group files appeal in lawsuit against wind turbine farm off Martha’s Vineyard; alleges right whales in danger

September 27, 2023 — A group opposing an offshore wind farm being built south of Martha’s Vineyard has appealed a ruling that dismissed its lawsuit to halt the project, arguing that a “gravely flawed environmental review” failed to consider the dangers the turbines pose to the vulnerable North Atlantic Right Whale population.

Nantucket Residents Against Turbines filed its appeal last week in the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, after US District Court Judge Indira Talwani in May dismissed its lawsuit, records show.

The defendants are the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Marine Fisheries Service, US Interior Secretary Debra Haaland, US Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo, and wind farm developer Vineyard Wind 1 LLC, according to court records and the group’s lawyer, Thomas Stavola Jr.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

Can $82 million stop the first modern-day extinction of a great whale?

September 25, 2023 — The U.S. government has issued an $82 million grant to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales — “the largest climate and conservation investment in history,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said. The whale is fast approaching extinction, with just 70 females of reproductive age amid its dwindling numbers.

The funding from the Inflation Reduction Act will be used to ensure that the NOAA can implement technology to help ships detect and avoid the whales, alongside existing conservation measures.

Read the full article at SEMAFOR

South Atlantic council opens door to ‘ropeless’ fish trap gear

September 18, 2023 — Developing on-demand or ‘ropeless’ fish trap gear could allow more fishermen to keep working in the black sea bass fishery from the Carolinas to Florida, even with seasonal closures to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from gear entanglement.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has begun moving toward making pop-up fish pot gear allowable at all times, after three years of testing under an experimental fishery permit from the council.

In 2017 the fishery was tasked with two seasonal closures from December to March and November to April to protect migrating right whales. Adapting the pot fishery to use on-demand gear – without vertical lines, and buoys that can be summoned by signal from fishermen to pop up for retrieval ­– underwent testing under the council’s EFP.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Biden administration announces USD 82 million for right whale conservation

September 18, 2023 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has announced USD 82 million (EUR 77 million) for North Atlantic right whale conservation and recovery efforts.

Of the total, USD 36 million (EUR 34 million) will be used for monitoring and modeling, roughly half of which will be dedicated to passive acoustic monitoring along the U.S.East Coast. An additional USD 20 million (EUR 19 million) will be used to reduce vessel strikes, primarily by investing in whale detection and avoidance technology, while USD 18 million (EUR 17 million) will be invested in developing on-demand fishing gear and deployment, and USD 5 million (EUR 4.7 million) will be invested in law enforcement.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Biden-Harris Administration announces historic $82 million for endangered North Atlantic right whales as part of Investing in America agenda

September 18, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced next steps to conserve and recover endangered North Atlantic right whales with $82 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest climate and conservation investment in history. This announcement comes during Climate Week and is part of the $2.6 billion framework to invest in coastal resilience that NOAA announced earlier this year. 

North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction with fewer than 350 individuals remaining, including fewer than 70 reproductively active females. Today’s funding provides an unprecedented opportunity to address the primary threats to the species — entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes — with new technologies and approaches.

“This historic funding will allow NOAA Fisheries to make critical advancements in our work to save the endangered North Atlantic right whale species,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “With $82 million of Inflation Reduction Act funding, we are making smart investments — a cornerstone of Bidenomics — to help address the crisis these whales are facing through innovative solutions that minimize the impact on workers in marine industries.” 

New funding will support the application of existing technologies — such as passive acoustic monitoring — and the development and implementation of technologies to enable vessels to detect and avoid North Atlantic right whales and other large whales. Additionally, NOAA Fisheries will continue to develop and evaluate new technologies — such as those that use high-resolution satellite information — to transform North Atlantic right whale monitoring and improve understanding of the whales’ distribution and habitat use.

“During the past decade, right whales have changed their distribution patterns, spending more time in areas with fewer protections from vessel strikes and entanglements,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “The species has experienced a severe population decline that has underscored the urgency to take new and innovative actions for their recovery. This funding allows us to invest in technologies to reduce the risk of vessel strikes, increase the use of on-demand fishing gear and improve enforcement of existing federal regulations.”

NOAA will invest in four major areas over the next three years to include monitoring and computer modeling of whale distribution, vessel strike risk reduction, on-demand fishing gear and enforcement efforts. NOAA anticipates using funding as follows:

  • About $35.8 million for monitoring and modeling, including approximately: 
    • $17.2 million will go toward passive acoustic monitoring along the U.S. East Coast.
    • $3.5 million will go toward a satellite tagging monitoring program, in addition to $5.6 million for high resolution satellite artificial intelligence.
    • $5.2 million will be used for modeling advancements.
  • About $20.1 million will be invested toward vessel strike risk reduction efforts, including approximately:
    • $16.7 million will be dedicated to whale detection and avoidance technology development. 
  • About $17.9 million will be invested to support furthering on-demand fishing gear technology.
  • About $5 million will be invested in enforcement efforts, supporting new equipment, technologies and operations.

These funds support NOAA Fisheries’ Road to Recovery for North Atlantic right whales. The species is endangered, declining, and experiencing an Unusual Mortality Event, which NOAA Fisheries declared in 2017 following the documentation of elevated right whale mortalities. This event is ongoing and includes 115 North Atlantic right whales that are deceased, seriously injured or in poor health. 

Along with leveraging other funding and supporting the development of innovative fishing gear, NOAA will use Inflation Reduction Act funding to partner and coordinate with federal, state, industry and other partners to promote the development and implementation of advanced solutions to address existing and emerging threats to the species.

Rules to protect whales issued to offshore wind firm prepping for N.J. construction

September 14, 2023 — As developers get closer to building the Jersey Shore’s first offshore wind turbines, the safety of marine mammals continues to be an important factor.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday issued Ørsted a construction authorization that outlines rules for protecting whales and dolphins while installing monopiles, turbines and other offshore wind infrastructure for its first project.

The number of stranded whales on the Atlantic Coast this year reached 62, including nearly two dozen in New York and New Jersey. Although three federal agencies and various experts have repeated that scientific evidence has yet to connect the strandings to offshore wind development, the Marine Mammal Protection Act requires the permit.

Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1 will be crucial in Gov. Phil Murphy’s larger ambition for New Jersey to become a leader in the clean energy alternative on the Eastern Seaboard.

Read the full article at NJ.com

Feds won’t challenge pro-lobster court decision

September 11, 2023 — Lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice have chosen not to appeal the latest court ruling in a legal battle that has pitted North Atlantic right whales against the Maine lobster industry. As a result of the case—Maine Lobstermen’s Association v. National Marine Fisheries Service, et al.—and a regulatory pause put in place by Congress, the government must now wait until the end of 2028 to implement a new set of rules to protect right whales under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

The DOJ, which represented federal fisheries managers, had until August 30 to challenge a June 16 appellate court’s decision.

“It’s my understanding that the Department of Justice will not be appealing the June decision in the MLA case,” Maine Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in an email responding to an August 31 inquiry from this newspaper. “It’s good to know that we can now focus on the important work ahead, which includes developing and implementing a robust right whale monitoring program and alternative gear testing that can inform much more targeted and effective regulations during the next phase of rulemaking, scheduled for 2028.”

“The Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s uncontested victory at the Appeals Court puts an end to the federal government’s abuse of power and misapplication of the law in its regulation of the lobster fishery’s impact on right whales,” agreed Patrice McCarron, policy director for the MLA. “The MLA is encouraged that the federal government has accepted the court’s decision and can begin the important work of developing a new Whale Rule and Biological Opinion that are not based on worst-case scenarios and pessimistic assumptions.”

Neither the National Marine Fisheries Service nor the Conservation Law Foundation, which sided with the agency, responded to repeated requests for interviews prior to deadline.

Background

A year ago, on September 8, 2022, U.S. Chief District Judge James E. Boasberg issued a ruling that would have drastically restricted lobstering and related fisheries in order to reduce mortality risks to North Atlantic right whales. Citing figures from the NMFS’s “biological opinion” that put the right whale population at 350 or less, and estimates about the number of whales that were being entangled in U.S. based fishing gear, Boasberg essentially ordered the end of rope fishing in six months, in order to reduce the current minimal risk of entanglement by an additional 90 percent. The new goal set a standard that sought almost no risk of gear entanglement in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the full article at Penobscot Bay Press