Saving Seafood

There’s a whale baby boom off Florida’s east coast; 5th North Atlantic right whale calf spotted

February 12, 2019 — There’s a whale baby boom taking place off Central Florida’s east coast for the “rarest” of the world’s large whales.

On Friday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported on its Facebook page that during the current North Atlantic right whale birthing season, a fifth calf has been spotted off Florida — this time near Sebastian Inlet State Park with a first-time mother.

“Volunteers with Sebastian Inlet State Park sighted a mother-calf pair February 5, 2019, just off the beach,” the FWC posted on its Flickr account. “Photographs taken by Park Ranger, Ed Perry, confirm the mother is Catalog #4180. Right whale #4180 is at least eight years old and this is her first known calf. The pair was observed resting and nursing at the surface.”

So, why do five right whale calves constitute a baby boom?

Read the full story at the Orlando Sentinel

Regulators to consider reducing lobstermen’s lines to protect right whales

February 8, 2019 — Regulators will consider removing up to 40 percent of the lines that link seabed lobster traps to buoys on the surface, taking the step in the hopes of protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale and avoiding federal restrictions on the lobster fishery.

Fishermen who serve on the American Lobster Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission say the action is required to prevent the federal government from declaring the lobster fishery a threat to North Atlantic right whales, whose population has dwindled to 411 because of changes in habitat, low calving rates, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing lines. If the federal government places a “jeopardy” finding on the species, it would likely trigger far more burdensome restrictions on Maine’s $1.4 billion a year lobster industry, board members said.

Better that fishery participants decide what concessions they can live with than leave it up to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, they said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

ASMFC American Lobster Board Initiates Draft Addendum XXVIII

February 7, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXVIII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Draft Addendum considers reducing the number of vertical lines in the water in response to concerns about the North Atlantic right whale population and the potential impacts of whale conservation measures on the conduct of the lobster fishery.

“With this proposed action, the Board is entering uncertain waters,” stated Maine Commissioner Pat Keliher. “However, as the lead management authority for American lobster, we have a responsibility to ensure the viability of the lobster fishery. Through the active engagement of the states and the lobster industry in our management process, we believe the Board is best suited to navigate the growing challenges facing the lobster fishery.”

A key focus of the Board meeting was the intersection of lobster management and the conservation of protected resources. While the Commission is primarily a forum for the Atlantic coast states to cooperatively manage fish and shellfish species, the Board noted several factors associated with North Atlantic right whale conservation which could substantially impact the economic and cultural future of the lobster fishing industry. These include future recommendations of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team and the anticipated Biological Opinion being developed under the Endangered Species Act. Given the high economic value of the lobster fishery and its social significance to coastal communities, the Board agreed it is important to ensure the implementation of measures to conserve North Atlantic right whales takes place in a way that maintains the sustainability and culture of the lobster fishery.

Draft Addendum XXVIII will propose options to reduce vertical lines from zero to 40%, to be achieved by trap limits, gear configuration changes, seasonal closures, and/or the acceleration of currently planned trap reductions. The Board noted reductions will consider ongoing state and federal management actions, including trap reductions and trap caps, which have already reduced vertical lines. By initiating this action, states can continue to cooperatively participate in the management of this species during ongoing discussions on the conservation of North Atlantic right whales. In addition, those who are most familiar with the intricacies of the lobster fishery, including industry, can provide input on future regulations.

Read a PDF copy of the release here

New drive to reduce lobster fishing gear to help rare whale

February 7, 2019 — Interstate fishing managers are starting the process of trying to reduce the amount of lobster fishing gear off the East Coast in an attempt to help save a declining species of rare whale.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced on Wednesday that it would consider options designed to reduce vertical lobster fishing lines in the water by as much as 40 percent. The lines pose a threat to the North Atlantic right whale, which is one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

The commission said it would try to reduce the amount of gear with a combination of trap limits, seasonal closures, changes to gear configuration and other methods. The rules are under development and it will take months before they come up for public hearings.

The commission said in a statement that the drive to reduce lines in the water is “in response to concerns about the North Atlantic right whale population and the potential impacts of whale conservation measures on the conduct of the lobster fishery.” But some lobster fishermen said they need more details about the effort before they will get on board.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the San Francisco Chronicle

Extended: Voluntary Vessel Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

February 6, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) established south of Nantucket on January 15 has been extended to protect an aggregation of 11 right whales sighted in this area on February 4.

This DMA is in effect through February 20, 2019.

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

Nantucket DMA coordinates:

41 12 N
40 28 N
070 36 W
069 31 W

ACTIVE SEASONAL MANAGEMENT AREAS (SMAs)

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15, 2019

Mid-Atlantic U.S. SMAs — in effect through April 30, 2019

Southeast U.S. SMA — in effect through April 15, 2019

More info on Seasonal Management Areas

Right Whales Are Migrating 

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room as they migrate south. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are slightly more than 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

More Info

Recent right whale sightings

Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.

Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone

Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS

Send a blank message to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs and SMAs.

Details and graphics of all ship strike management zones currently in effect.

Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

Questions? Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103

 

Atlantic Lobster Board Moves Toward Reducing Rope In Effort To Save Right Whales

February 6, 2019 — A consortium of Atlantic states fisheries managers is calling for broad changes to the gear lobstermen use, in an effort to reduce risks posed to the endangered North Atlantic right whale and to ward off potential federal action that could be even more challenging for the industry.

There are roughly 410 right whales left in the world, and they are at risk of potentially fatal entanglements with vertical rope lines lobstermen and other marine harvesters use to position and haul their traps. At a meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council in Virginia, its lobster board voted unanimously to set in motion the process that could lead to major changes in the East Coast’s lobster industry.

“I don’t want NOAA making decisions on what this lobster fishery is going to look like in the future,” says Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources for Maine, home to the country’s dominant lobster fishery, which landed some 110 million pounds of lobster in 2017 worth more than $450 million at the dock.

Keliher says that the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration is developing a “biological opinion” that could include a formal “jeopardy” finding for the right whales, which under the federal Endangered Species Act could lead to severe restrictions on the state’s harvest.

Read and listen to the full story at Maine Public

 

California wildlife agency denied in bid to delay lawsuit over whale, sea turtle entanglements

February 5, 2019 — A San Francisco judge has rejected the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s bid to delay a lawsuit that claims the agency has fallen short in preventing the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery from entangling whales and sea turtles.

U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney, on Jan. 25, denied the department’s motion to delay the case by 2 1/2 years while it secures a federal “incidental take permit” that would allow the agency to operate in a way that addresses and minimizes the threat to whales and sea turtles, while acknowledging some risk.

The Center for Biological Diversity sued Fish and Wildlife in October 2017 after the total number of whale entanglements from all fishing industries broke records for three straight years.

“The Dungeness crab fishery is the biggest entanglement culprit in California, by far,” said Steve Jones, a spokesman for the center. “Most entangling gear can’t be identified, but of the identified gear, it is mostly crab lines.”

Read the full story at The San Jose Mercury News

‘Lobster-Whale Work Group’ Faces Complicated Balancing Act As It Works To Protect Right Whales

February 1, 2019 — Fisheries’ managers in the Atlantic states are considering a more proactive approach to regulating the lobster industry in order to reduce risks it may pose for the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Under pressure from lawsuits and the requirements of the federal Endangered Species Act, the federal government is closely reviewing the health of the right whale population, which is hovering around 410 animals. The result could be the imposition of new gear and other restrictions to reduce the risk of whale entanglement with the rope lobstermen use to position and haul their traps.

That process was slowed by the recent government shutdown and, in the meantime, a new “Lobster-Whale Work Group,” made up of state officials in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, has proposed a slate of possible actions with the dual goals of protecting the whales and the “viability and culture of the lobster fishery.”

“We’re doing everything we can to appease the people who think it may be us,” says Stephen Train, a lobsterman in Long Island, Maine.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Four newborn right whales spotted early in 2019 breeding season

February 1, 2019 — The end of 2018 contained more dark news for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, as scientists finding that the species decline had quickened.

An estimate by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) brought the total population count of the species to a maximum total of 411 individuals remaining, with as few as 100 of those remaining being females of breeding age. That news came on top of already grim finding that no new calves were born during the 2017-2018 breeding season.

But on 22 January, three new calves were reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. And on 25 January, the agency recorded a spotting of a fourth right whale calf off the coast of Georgia.

The North Atlantic right whales, one of the world’s three right whale populations, spend much of the winter in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean off Florida and Georgia before migrating to New England the Canadian Maritimes for the summer. There, they face the danger of entanglement in fishing lines used in lobster and crab fishing.

In 2017, 17 right whales died from ship strikes or entanglements in fishing gear. In 2018, an additional three right whales died, with one of the deceased right whales found to have died from entanglement in snow crab gear used in Canada.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mid-Atlantic Boaters: Watch out for Whales!

January 31, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As large whales migrate along the Eastern Seaboard, remember to follow responsible wildlife viewing guidelines to keep everyone–whales and people– safe!

Whales are large and need lots of space to feed, travel, and rest. In an underwater world, noisy boats can interrupt their activities, make whales nervous, or make them leave an area. Getting too close raises the risk for the whale of being hit by a boat or a propeller, and can cause injuries to boaters as well.

Reduce your risks and increase your chances of seeing natural, uninhibited whale behaviors by keeping a safe distance (100 feet for most whales, 1,500 feet for right whales). Use your zoom or a telephoto lens to capture the experience, or just relax and enjoy the awesome experience of sharing the water with whales.

If whales leave the area, it’s their way of telling you they’ve had enough attention. Respect their space. It’s also illegal to chase or in any way change a whale’s natural behavior.

Read the full release here