Tag Archives: Right Whale Protections
Maine fishing industry forum held in Waldoboro
On Wednesday, May 24, a crowd of over 100 concerned citizens attended a forum at the Coastal Christian Academy in Waldoboro on the challenges facing our lobster industry. Forum participants focused on the history of lobstering as a self-regulated, sustainable fishery, right whale protections, and the impact of offshore wind power. William “Billy Bob” Faulkingham of Winter Harbor, Maine House District 12 Representative, House Minority Leader and a fourth-generation lobsterman, was the first speaker. Dustin Delano, chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen Stewardship Association and former vice president of the Maine Lobster Association, was the second speaker. Jason Joyce, an eighth-generation lobsterman from Swan’s Island, was the final speaker. >click to read< 11:40
Massachusetts lobstermen back in water facing new challenges
Lobstermen in Massachusetts are back in the water and facing a variety of challenges. Fishermen were grounded due to right whale protections. The battle now is a combination of high fuel costs and lower prices at fisheries, raising the cost of fishing operations. “If the fuel price doesn’t get lower and the price of lobster doesn’t get into a stable – I’m not even going to say high price but a stable price – things are going to be tough,” >click to read< 21:10
Massachusetts lobster industry feels impact of right whale protections
If you live in Massachusetts and you want locally caught lobster on Mother’s Day weekend, you’ll be out of luck. Commercial lobstering in Massachusetts waters is off-limits until later in May, which means, for the time being, any lobster being sold in Massachusetts has to be caught in Canadian waters. “It’s getting harder and harder every year,” lobsterman Tom Reilly said. “They make it more and more difficult for us with the closures.” Video, >click to read< 09:19
Documents Reveal ‘Catastrophic Impact’ Right Whale Protections Could Have On Lobster Industry
Newly released documents by Maine’s Department of Resources are providing a glimpse of what federal action to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales could look like — including the closure of extensive areas of offshore ocean to lobstering. In an August letter to the head of the agency that reviews proposed federal regulations, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher asked for a meeting to go over options for reducing the risk of right whales becoming dangerously entangled in lobster trap gear and rope. That was after conversations with the federal Northeast Fisheries Science Center that brought to light a proposal that could put big swaths of ocean off-limits to lobstering in federal waters known as Lobster Conservation Management Areas, or LCMAs. >click to read< 18:46
Ships not complying with right whale protections in Cabot Strait
Oceana Canada has released one week of results from its ongoing study, which is assessing data from vessels travelling inside speed restriction zones. Between May 19 and May 25, 72 per cent of vessels recorded passing through the strait between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were observed travelling at speeds above the requested 10 knots, with the highest observed at 21.1 knots. The findings will be part of a fuller study to be released in July that will look at the first trial period of the speed restriction. >click to read< 17:55
DFO: Season-long fishing closures possible under new North Atlantic right whale protections
On Thursday, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced more protections in an effort to prevent future entanglements. “These new measures build on that work, and are informed by the latest research and technology,” said Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan in a release.,, This year, from April to November, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will be closing fishing in areas of the gulf where whales are gathering in large numbers. If whales are detected in an area of the gulf more than once during a 15-day period, that fishing zone will be closed for fishing until the end of the season on Nov.15. Previously, the zone would be re-opened after 15 days. >click to read< 15:58
9 U.S. environmental groups seeking Canadian snow crab import ban, stronger right whale protections
“We do believe that, at this point, at least Canadian snow crab needs to be banned from the United States,” said Sarah Uhlemann, program director of the Seattle-based Center for Biological Diversity. Uhlemann was one of nine conservation groups who signed a letter sent Tuesday to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) urging it to “press the Canadian government to immediately strengthen right whale protections, in order to avoid an import ban and to help save the species from extinction.” >click to read< 07:35
BOURNE: Lobstermen seek help in protecting right whales, Testimony cites burden on local industry.
Commercial lobstermen urged federal regulators Wednesday to take Canada to task for its failure to protect North Atlantic right whales and to remember that local lobstermen carrier a heavier burden of regulation than others in U.S. waters. “We as lobstermen do not want to see harm come to the right whale,” Plymouth lobsterman Tom O’Reilly said at a public forum at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, the eighth in a series of meetings held this month,,, >click to read<08:40
Right whale protections may not be enough, federal review shows
Measures taken to protect North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence from being struck by ships and getting caught in fishing gear may not be enough, a scientific review by Ottawa shows.,, The review was done late last year by scientists who work in federal departments and universities across Canada, looking at data compiled by marine-mammal experts over the last three years.,, Aerial surveys estimate there were at least 190 right whales in the Gulf last year, half the total known population everywhere. (and none died) >click to read< 12:57
Immediate Action Needed to Save North Atlantic Right Whales – Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries >click to read<
Kennebunk Town Column: Invisible lines threaten lobster fishery – Lobstermen are facing the real threat of being forced out of business and a livelihood that they have relied on for many generations. >click to read<
New England Senators Threaten Trade Action Against Canada Over Right Whale Protections
A group of New England senators is calling on the U.S. government to speed up an analysis of Canada’s efforts to protect the endangered North American right whale, and to consider trade action if Canada’s rules do not prove as strong as in the U.S.,, Now they’re calling on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to investigate whether fishermen in Canada are being held to similar standards. If not, they say, then NOAA should consider barring the import of Canadian seafood from the relevant fisheries. “It’s really a double-edged sword,” says Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. >click to read>19:12
