Saving Seafood

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

 

Maine Lobstermen’s Association Sues Feds Over Right Whale Protection Plan

September 28, 2021 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has filed suit against the federal government over its plan to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from becoming entangled in lobster gear.

MLA executive director Patrice McCarron says a 10-year plan issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service this summer should be revised to reflect actions the industry has already taken.

“We are literally on a course to have our fishery erased, eliminated in ten years, because the plan’s not based upon the science. And the first phase of the plan has weaknesses, too, not based upon the best available science,” she says.

Read the full story at Maine Public

 

Maine governor to take side of fishing biz in whale lawsuit

September 28, 2021 — Maine’s governor is intervening in a federal lawsuit that concerns the future of right whale protections and lobster fishing off New England.

The lawsuit was filed by conservation group Center for Biological Diversity against the federal government and it makes the case that federal management of the lobster fishing industry violates federal law because it can harm the rare whales. The whales are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in fishing gear.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

 

Gov. Mills Administration Granted Intervenor Status to Support Maine’s Lobster Industry in Lawsuit

September 28, 2021 — The following was released by the office of Maine Governor Janet Mills:

Governor Janet Mills announced today that a federal judge has granted her Administration’s motion to intervene in the pending litigation Center for Biological Diversity v. Ross in the U.S. District Court in the D.C. Circuit.

“Intervening in this case is a critically important step in the state’s efforts to support Maine’s vital lobster industry,” said Governor Mills. “A court decision in the plaintiff’s favor could close Maine’s lobster fishery altogether – a completely unacceptable outcome that would be devastating to our lobstermen and their families and devastating to our coastal communities and our economy. We will fight tooth and nail to prevent that from happening.”

The lawsuit contests the Federal government’s recently published regulation to protect North Atlantic Right Whales. It also amends and supplements a 2018 lawsuit which challenged the Federal government’s authority to regulate the lobster fishery by challenging the required Biological Opinion.

With the approval of the Office of Attorney General, the Mills Administration has contracted with the law firm Nossaman LLP to represent the State of Maine as an intervenor in this lawsuit. Nossaman attorneys have extensive experience litigating Endangered Species Act issues related to commercial fishing. The Governor is supporting the effort by funding the use of specialized outside counsel through the Governor’s Contingent Account.

“We worked closely with industry to develop approaches that would minimize the hardship to fishermen, and through that effort, informed the rulemaking process, but the battle for this industry is also being waged on multiple fronts,” said Commissioner of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher. “We are committed to making sure we have the legal expertise and resources necessary to capably represent the interests of Maine’s lobster industry in this pivotal court fight.”

Last week, Governor Mills sent a letter Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo urging swift action by NOAA Fisheries to reduce the unnecessary economic harm to Maine fishermen that the recently announced Federal whale protection rule will cause.

Governor Mills has repeatedly stood up for Maine’s vital lobster industry and its working men and women in the face of the Federal government’s right whale proposal. Last year, she wrote to the Commerce Department urging it to deny a petition by Pew Charitable Trusts that asks for three seasonal offshore closures in the Gulf of Maine and that would prohibit the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in four areas of the New England coast.

She also filed comments with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the draft Biological Opinion for ten fishery management plans in the Greater Atlantic Region, focusing on the North Atlantic Right Whale, expressing “grave concern” and warning it will be economically devastating and will fundamentally change Maine’s lobster fishery.

Read the full release here

 

Maine Gov. Janet Mills Calls on Commerce Secretary to Delay Implementation of Gear Marking & Modification in Right Whale Rule

September 27, 2021 — The following was released by the Office of Maine Governor Janet Mills:

In a letter today to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Governor Janet Mills urged swift action by NOAA Fisheries to reduce the unnecessary economic harm to Maine fishermen that the recently announced Federal whale protection rule will cause.

“I don’t believe this rule, as written, should take effect at all, and, at the very least, I urge you to direct NOAA Fisheries to delay the rule’s implementation of gear marking and gear modifications (including both trawling up and insertion of weak points) to July 1, 2022,” wrote Governor Mills.

“It is entirely unfair that Maine lobstermen continue to be the primary target of burdensome regulations, despite the many effective mitigation measures they have taken and despite the data showing that ship strikes and Canadian fishing gear continue to pose significant risk to right whales,” she wrote.

On August 31, 2021, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) issued the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule. In response, Governor Mills joined U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden is opposing the rule.

In her letter today, Governor Mills highlighted gear marking requirements that are “alarmingly different than what was in the proposed rule.” Maine implemented a state-specific gear marking regulation in 2020 that provided flexibility to fishermen who move gear from offshore to inshore waters. After communicating with NOAA, Maine anticipated it would be reflected in the final rule. Instead, the final rule will require many fishermen to “purchase a second set of endlines,” wrote Governor Mills. She pointed out that the cost to fishermen for a second set of endlines is estimated to be over $9 million.

Revenue loss associated with the May 1, 2022 implementation deadline for required gear marking and modification will also unfairly burden Maine fishermen. “Fishermen who fish year-round usually do not begin to rotate their gear inshore until May. However, in order to meet the rule’s new requirements, fishermen anticipate a month or more of gear work to become compliant. Due to the NOAA deadline, gear will need to be brought back to port in March or April, when the price of lobster is very high,” wrote Governor Mills.

The expected loss from the implementation date, which was established without input from industry, is between $15 million and $25 million.

Governor Mills has repeatedly stood up for Maine’s vital lobster industry and its working men and women in the face of the Federal government’s right whale proposal. Last year, she wrote to the Commerce Department urging it to deny a petition by Pew Charitable Trusts that asks for three seasonal offshore closures in the Gulf of Maine and that would prohibit the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in four areas of the New England coast.

She also filed comments with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the draft Biological Opinion for ten fishery management plans in the Greater Atlantic Region, focusing on the North Atlantic Right Whale, expressing “grave concern” and warning it will be economically devastating and will fundamentally change Maine’s lobster fishery.

Her Administration, through the Maine Department of Marine Resources, also plans to file for intervenor status in the pending litigation Center for Biological Diversity v. Ross in the U.S. District Court in the D.C. Circuit in an effort to avoid having the court vacate the biological opinion (BiOp). If the biological opinion is vacated by the court, the potential outcome is a closure of the entire fishery. The Governor is supporting the effort by funding the use of specialized outside counsel through the Governor’s Contingent Account.

A copy of the letter is attached (PDF).

 

New tool maps birds, fish in offshore wind areas

September 23, 2021 — While federal and state officials eagerly pursue a rapid and significant deployment of offshore wind turbines to generate cleaner power along the East Coast, scientists and advocates on Wednesday unveiled a new mapping tool designed to give developers, regulators and the public a better sense of the natural resources below the surface in the neighborhood of proposed wind projects.

Last year, the U.S. offshore wind pipeline grew by 24 percent with more than 35,000 megawatts now in various stages of development, the U.S. Department of Energy said in its latest offshore wind market report. Massachusetts has authorized up to 5,600 MW and so far has contracted for about 1,600 MW of offshore wind power. But even before the first turbine is installed, the industry is facing headwinds from two federal lawsuits that focus on the protection of endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale and commercial fishing interests.

The marine mapping tool rolled out Wednesday by The Nature Conservancy covers the coast from Maine through North Carolina and includes information about the makeup of the seafloor, the fish and invertebrates that live near the bottom of the ocean in a given area, the marine mammals that frequent a chosen swath of ocean, the bird species that are known to be in the area and more. The tool allows a user to compare data from different times of the year and incorporates historical data as well.

Read the full story at WWLP

 

Maine’s Next Generation Of Lobstermen Brace For Unprecedented Change

September 20, 2021 — The latest federal rule, announced on Aug. 31 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is part of a plan to stop endangered North Atlantic right whales from getting caught in fishing gear by 2030.

The agency estimates that the population’s decline has accelerated in recent years, with 368 right whales remaining. NOAA has documented 34 right whale deaths since 2017, with at least nine of those mortalities confirmed to have been caused by entanglements in fishing gear, including gear used by commercial gillnet or lobster and crab fisheries on the East Coast.

NOAA’s new rule requires lobstermen to use gear with state-specific markings that can be traced if a whale gets caught, among other modifications such as weak points in fishing lines that allow entangled whales to break free. The rule will also allow lobstermen to use so-called ropeless gear — a costly and controversial new technology that’s still in the early stages of development — in fishing areas that will be closed in certain seasons.

“The beauty of the lobster industry is that there’s been a place for everybody,” says Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “We’re at risk of putting too many barriers in that are really going to create winners and losers, so it’s scary.”

McCarron says fishermen want to do their part to protect whales, but she says no Maine lobster gear has ever been confirmed to have caused the serious injury or death of a right whale. A NOAA spokesperson counters that its scientists are unable to determine the source of most entanglements and nearly half of mortalities go unobserved.

Read the full story at NPR

 

Maine plans to intervene in lawsuit over new lobstering regulations

September 17, 2021 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources plans to get involved with a lawsuit over new lobstering regulations intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale – regulations that will impact the state’s lucrative lobster fishery.

Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher told lawmakers in the U.S. state during a hearing on 14 September that the department plans to intervene in an existing lawsuit that environmental groups brought against the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the new rules, according to the Portland Press Herald. Keliher told lawmakers that the department has hired an attorney and that Maine Governor Janet Mills has committed the state to covering all legal fees.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource