Saving Seafood

Maine lobster industry decries lack of clarity on enforcement of new whale-protection rules

October 12, 2021 — State and federal regulators say they are prepared to enforce the 967-square-mile area of the Gulf of Maine that will be closed to traditional lobstering for the next three months but have been tight-lipped about what the enforcement will look like or what the penalties might be for anyone who is found in violation of the closure area.

Environmentalists, who support the closure designed to help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from becoming entangled in lobstering gear, say the lack of details isn’t surprising, but Maine lobster industry officials are frustrated by the silence.

According to Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the industry is still grappling with trying to understand why the area is even going to be closed in the first place. The closure goes into effect Oct. 18. 

“Now it’s happening and we’ve had zero correspondence on what the rules of operation will be, what the enforcement will be,” she said. “The entire closure has literally fallen from the sky, and we’ve been given very little information and (told) to get out of there. … Everything I’ve seen is Oct. 18, here’s the box (outlining the closure area), get your gear out.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

Slow Zones South of Nantucket, MA and South of Atlantic City, NJ

October 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces an extension of a voluntary right whale Slow Zone. On October 7, 2021, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s vessel survey team observed the presence of right whales 20 nm South of Nantucket, MA. The right whale Slow Zone is in effect immediately and expires on October 22, 2021.

Also, on September 29, 2021 a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone under the Right Whale Slow Zone program was triggered and is currently in effect 65 nm South of Atlantic City, NJ to protect an aggregation of right whales. This Right Whale Slow Zone is in effect immediately through October 14, 2021.

VOLUNTARY Right whale “SLOW Zone”

Mariners are requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the following areas where persistent aggregations of right whales have been detected. Please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike for more information.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

South of Nantucket, MA — in effect through October 22, 2021

NORTHERN BOUNDARY: 38° 38′ N

SOUTHERN BOUNDARY: 37°58′ N

EASTERN BOUNDARY: 74°13′ W

WESTERN BOUNDARY: 75°04′ W

South of Atlantic City, NJ — in effect through October 14, 2021

NORTHERN BOUNDARY:41°20′ N

SOUTHERN BOUNDARY: 40°35′ N

EASTERN BOUNDARY: 69°32′ W

WESTERN BOUNDARY: 70°32′ W

 

Maine Lobstermen’s Association: Maine lobstermen frustrated by whale rules

October 7, 2021 — On Aug.31, the National Marine Fisheries Service released the long-awaited final rule which outlines measures for the Northeast lobster fishery to reduce the risk of entangling right whales by 60 percent. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is committed to action to recover the North Atlantic right whale, but the species cannot rebuild without a conservation plan supported by scientific evidence and comparable measures implemented in Canada and the U.S. shipping industry. The MLA remains extremely concerned that NMFS is placing an unwarranted burden on the Maine lobster fishery.

The U.S. lobster fishery implemented new regulations more than a decade ago which have reduced known right whale entanglement in U.S. lobster gear by 90 percent.

“According to NMFS data, the Maine lobster fishery has not had a documented entanglement with a North Atlantic right whale in over 17 years and has never been known to kill or seriously injure a right whale,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the MLA.

By comparison, an historic number of right whales have died in Canadian waters over the past five years, and Canada has yet to implement protections comparable to the U.S. Moreover, the most current, best available scientific evidence documents a change in right whale migration patterns away from Maine waters and into Canada and other areas.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

 

Legal challenges hanging over federal right whale protections

October 7, 2021 — Later this month, a stretch of federal waters off the coast of Maine will become temporarily off-limits for lobster fishing.

The seasonal closure is part of a new set of regulations aimed at protecting the endangered right whale population.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there are fewer than 370 right whales left in the world.

The marine mammals are native to Maine waters, traveling between coastal Nova Scotia and New England to feed and breed.

Research shows as many as four out of every five right whales show signs of injury from fishing line entanglement.

Along with the seasonal closure of some federal waters, the new regulations also limit the use of fixed-line lobster traps.

Read the full story at WABI

 

Maine Lobstering Union Files Suit for Emergency Relief Against NMFS

October 4, 2021 — The Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) became the latest from the lobster industry to file a federal lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) due to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Modifications announced on August 31.

The MLU filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Maine, seeking emergency relief related to fishing ground closures that will come into effect due to the recent modifications. Fox Island Lobster Company of Vinalhaven and Frank Thompson, a sixth-generation fisherman, who together with his wife Jean, own and operate Fox Island; and the Damon Family Lobster Company of Stonington are also Plaintiffs on the case.

The Complaint names as Defendants the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, and the Assistant Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NMFS.

Read the full story at Seafood News

 

Oceana filing with USMCA demands US federal action on right whales

October 4, 2021 — Non-governmental organization Oceana announced on 4 October it has filed the first-ever Submission on Enforcement Matters against the U.S. government under the recent United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Signed in 2019, the USMCA is a free-trade agreement between the three countries that includes mechanisms such as the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). Under the new agreement, a person or organization can file a “Submission on Enforcement Matters” with the CEC if one of the three countries in the USMCA is not enforcing its environmental laws.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Gulf of Maine lobster MSC suspension lifted

October 1, 2021 — MRAG Americas has announced the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificate has been reinstated for the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery effective 1 September, 2021, following its suspension in 2020.

The MSC certification was suspended in August 2020 in the wake of a decision in a federal court that found that the lobster fishery was in violation of the Endangered Species Act. That ruling by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in April 2020 found the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to include an “incidental take statement” for the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Maine Legislature threatens legal action over federal lobstering restrictions

September 30, 2021 — The Maine Legislature is threatening to fight the federal government in court over a set of controversial new seasonal restrictions on lobster harvesting in the Gulf of Maine.

Legislators on Wednesday approved a joint order from Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, that would allow the Legislative Council to take legal action in support of Maine lobstermen affected by the regulations.

Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new set of rules for New England’s lobster fishery aimed at reducing the risk to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and other whale species.

The goal is to reduce the risk to the whales by at least 60 percent in 2022.

The new rules will require lobstermen to string more traps on a single rope and to use weaker ropes to allow entangled whales to break free, among other changes, and will put more than 950 square miles of the Gulf of Maine off limits to traditional lobstering from October through January – the area’s most lucrative season.

Lobstermen say the new regulations will be expensive, dangerous, burdensome and impractical, and won’t reduce the risk to whales.

“The latest rules imposed by the federal government will do nothing to help the endangered species they were designed to protect while having damning consequences on hardworking Mainers and their families,” Jackson said in a statement. “… The Maine Legislature will not sit idly by while this iconic industry is under threat. We are ready to take legal action to right this wrong and support the hardworking men and women in the lobstering industry.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

Whale Protection Regulations Criticized by Opposing Sides

September 29, 2021 — New federal regulations meant to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales are set to be instituted soon.

But they’re facing opposition from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association despite endorsement by marine animal experts, and also being criticized as not stringent enough by environmentalists.

The association has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce over the 10-year whale protection plan.

It includes regulations like state-specific gear marks, more traps between buoy lines, more seasonal closure areas and requiring weaker ropes that the whales can break.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Lobster Lawsuit: Maine org sues feds over right whale rules

September 28, 2021 — On Monday, Sept. 21, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association filed a lawsuit challenging NMFS’ new rule for Northeast lobster and Jonah crab fisheries.

The rule, filed on Aug. 31, is a modification of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan and is supposed to reduce the risk of entanglements to North Atlantic right whales in U.S. waters. The association says the modifications address only the perceived risk of Maine fisheries, which have no documented right whale interactions.

The lawsuit, filed against NMFS and the Secretary of Commerce in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that “the federal government’s draconian and fundamentally flawed 10‐year whale protection plan… will all but eliminate the Maine lobster fishery yet still fail to save endangered right whales.” The result would put both fishermen and whales in harm’s way, industry leaders have said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman