Saving Seafood

MAINE: Fishermen oppose offshore wind as alternative energy option

March 19, 2021 — As Maine lobster fishermen are working to navigate regulations for the safety of right whales and the effects of global warming on the industry, they are now being asked to share their territory with wind turbines.  

“There’s so many different reasons to oppose it,” said Jack Merrill, a resident of Mount Desert and a member of the Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-op who has made his living as a lobster fisherman for the last 45 years. “They’re humongous. They just dwarf everything we’ve ever seen on the water. Every time they come out with a new plan, they just keep getting bigger and bigger.” 

In an effort to meet Maine’s requirement of 80 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and the goal of 100 percent by 2050, there is a project being proposed to research offshore wind energy by installing up to 12 floating wind turbines in a 16-square-mile area, 20-40 miles off the coast.  

To put that into perspective, the land area of Swan’s Island is 12 square miles. 

Recently, fisherman Jason Joyce, a resident of Swan’s Island, circulated a petition in support of LD 101, a bill introduced before the Legislature this January that prohibits offshore wind energy development in the first three miles from shore, also called state waters. 

“It prevents permitting of wind development in state waters and prevents permitting of cables/equipment from offshore wind development in federal waters from being installed in state waters as well,” Joyce wrote in an email to the Islander.   

Wording in LD 101 states, under the bill, the term “offshore wind energy development project” includes community-based offshore wind energy projects, deep-water offshore wind energy pilot projects, offshore wind energy demonstration projects and offshore wind power projects, which are all categories of projects currently authorized by law. 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

 

Slow Zones Extended Protect Right Whales: Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

March 17, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On March 16, 2021, the New England Aquarium aerial survey team observed two aggregations of right whales. The aggregations were observed south of Martha’s Vineyard, MA and south of Nantucket, Island, MA. Both the Martha’s Vineyard, MA and Nantucket Island, MA Slow Zones are extended through March 31, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

South of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, March 7-31, 2021

41 21 N
40 41 N
070 15 W
071 06 W

South of Nantucket, MA, March 7-31, 2021

41 23 N
40 40 N
069 39 W
070 35 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Proposed federal rules to help endangered whales could cost Maine’s lobster industry $10 million

March 15, 2021 — Federal fishing regulators are close to finalizing new rules that would require expensive gear modifications and seasonal fishing closures in Northeast waters to protect the endangered right whale. Maine regulators and fishermen fear the rules would jeopardize Maine’s billion-dollar lobster industry while environmental advocates argue they don’t go far enough.

The public comment period closed March 1 after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hosted virtual public hearings on Feb. 23 and 24. Now, federal regulators are sifting through about 170,000 public comments to incorporate any extra information into their analysis before drafting the final environmental impact statement they hope to release by this summer.

The rule changes, if incorporated, likely wouldn’t go into effect until late 2021 or early 2022.

During the final public hearings, Maine Department of Marine Resource Commissioner Patrick Keliher echoed a statement put out by Gov. Janet Mills earlier that week stating that “a one-size-fits-all approach in the state of Maine will not work.”

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Pilot

New Slow Zone (Martha’s Vineyard) and Extended Slow Zone (Nantucket) to Protect Right Whales

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

On March 7, 2021, the New England Aquarium survey team observed two aggregations of right whales. The new aggregation was observed south of Martha’s Vineyard, MA. The resighted whale aggregation was observed south of Nantucket, Island, MA. Both the Martha’s Vineyard, MA and Nantucket Island, MA Slow Zones are in effect through March 22, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

South of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, March 7-22, 2021

41 21 N
40 41 N
070 15 W
071 06 W

South of Nantucket, MA, March 7-22, 2021

41 23 N
40 40 N
069 39 W
070 35 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

NOAA extends right whale protection zones to mid-March

March 5, 2021 — The federal government is extending three protective zones off the East Coast that are designed to prevent collisions between ships and whales.

The zones are intended to protect North Atlantic right whales, which number only about 360. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said  the protective zones are located south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, east of Boston and southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Mariners are asked to avoid the areas altogether or transit through them at 10 knots or less. The three zones were established in late February. The Nantucket zone has been extended to March 13 and the Boston and Atlantic City zones have been extended to March 14.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

Federal plan to save right whales has Gov. Mills concerned about Maine’s lobster industry

March 4, 2021 — Gov. Janet Mills has “grave concerns” about a federal plan to save the North Atlantic right whale from extinction, citing its impact on Maine’s lucrative lobster industry.

In a letter to Michael Pentony, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s regional fisheries manager, Mills said she proposed rules aimed at reducing whale entanglement in fishing gear would “necessitate the complete reinvention of the Maine lobster fishery as we know it.”

“The state of Maine is adamant that our federal government must take aggressive action to remedy the inequities of this framework in the years ahead,” Mills wrote.

NOAA is drafting new rules to reduce the possibility of entanglement of right whales in “vertical” line fishing gear such as lobster traps. The rules are set to be finalized on May 31.

Mills’ comments were accompanied by a detailed analysis of NOAA’s plan, pointing out flaws in the research and the federal agency’s assumptions about the impact of vertical gear.

Read the full story at The Center Square

New Slow Zone off Virginia to Protect Right Whales

March 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On March 3, 2021, an observer on board the HDR Naval research vessel observed the presence of right whales east of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Virginia Beach Slow Zone is in effect through March 18, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

East of Virginia Beach, March 3-18, 2021

37 10 N
36 32 N
074 51 W
075 40 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

UGA, fishing industry expand market, protect whales

March 4, 2021 — The University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant are working with commercial fishermen to test advanced gear that could expand their catch and protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, like the one found dead off the coast of South Carolina recently.

Ropeless fishing gear would allow boats easier access to black sea bass, which are caught using pots that are lowered to the ocean floor with vertical fishing lines connected to floats that sit on top of the water. Fishermen set those pots for a period of time, and black sea bass swim into them and can’t get out. The pots and lines are retrieved at the end of each trip.

Currently, during colder months off the southeast Atlantic coast, fishing boats have to go about 30 miles offshore to set their pots so that they won’t ensnare the right whales that migrate south during the winter to calve. That makes the trip more expensive and more dangerous for the fishers.

But setting pots closer to shore is a critical hazard to the right whales. The whale that was found dead off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Sunday had been spotted near Nantucket, Massachusetts, in October with fishing line extended from its mouth. Nicknamed Cottontail, the whale was spotted in February near Florida where disentanglement experts tried unsuccessfully to free him from the ropes.

Since 2017, 34 right whales have died from entanglement in fishing gear or being struck by a boat.

Read the full story at UGA Today

Better data needed to guide regulatory decisions aimed at protecting right whales

March 3, 2021 — Federal regulators, in response to a court order, are again proposing stringent new rules on lobster fishing in an effort to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The decline in whale numbers in recent years is troubling. However, it is also problematic that more precise data on the causes of whale deaths remains lacking.

We, along with fishermen, conservationists, our governor and congressional delegation, want the right whale population to grow and thrive. But without evidence that lobster fishing gear is a significant threat to the whales, it is hard to accept potentially expensive, burdensome and dangerous changes in lobster fishing gear that may have little impact on the whales.

In the new draft biological opinion, the document that will be the basis for National Marine Fisheries Service regulations for the management of numerous ocean fisheries to limit harm to right whales, the agency clearly acknowledges the gaps in data.

Regarding collisions with ships, the agency says it is currently undergoing a separate review of measures, including mandated speed reductions and closed areas, to reduce what are called “vessel strikes.” Twice in the document it says: “This review is expected to be released soon.”

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Lobstermen say NOAA’s proposed whale rule won’t work, and conservationists agree

March 1, 2021 — A Feb. 24 public hearing on a proposed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) rule aimed at reducing the risk of North Atlantic right whale entanglements in fishing lines raised questions of relevant data used in drafting the rule and its outcome for lobstermen and right whales.

These conversations have been going on between conservationists, lobstermen, NOAA and the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) since 2019, when NOAA held its first public meetings on how lobstermen could adapt fishing methods to reduce the risks.

The Take Reduction Team, operating under NOAAA Fisheries, is tasked with upholding the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The North Atlantic right whale has been on the endangered species list since 1970, and the ESA determines a right whale mortality rate that will not further diminish their population. That rate now stands at 0.7 per year. Even one death is considered too much.

Although a new draft biological opinion just released proposes a 98 percent risk reduction to prevent right whale extinction, the TRT plan goal was based on an earlier opinion, recommending a 60 percent risk reduction. May 31 is the court-ordered deadline for finalizing the draft biological opinion and lobster fishing regulations to protect whales.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American