Tag Archives: right whales
Maine: Updates to Lobster Industry from Commissioner Keliher
As has been the case over the past several years, there is no shortage of issues facing the lobster industry. I am keenly aware what all the uncertainty around right whales does to both the people and businesses in this industry, and I am afraid that an end to that uncertainty does not seem to be in sight. However, major changes could be identified soon, depending on what a federal judge decides this fall. In addition to right whales, there have been continued discussions at ASMFC about whether there are further management changes needed to protect the resiliency of the lobster stock. Finally, the market challenges and resulting price impacts this summer have generated a lot of calls and questions to my office about what DMR can do to improve this situation. I wanted to provide updates on all these topics, to keep you as informed as possible as these situations evolve. >click to read< 13:57
Maine Lobstering: A Family Business Facing Challenges
“Today, we really face multiple challenges including competition for the bottom fishing ground with plans to erect windmill generators, to huge increases in the price of bait due to limiting the Herring catches. Just getting new buoys made is tough,” said Capt. Steve Train, a lobsterman of Long Island, Maine. “There is a year-long wait for new traps because there aren’t a lot of people building them. And there is the closing of the federal offshore fishing grounds with the implementation of new regulations as part of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. All these challenges are driving our costs up.” West Bath, Maine Capt. Peter Doran agrees the industry has always faced challenges. photos, video >click to read< 19:04
Feds botched the review of Vineyard Wind, lawsuit alleges – Concern over right whales in lawsuit
A group of Nantucket residents opposed to an offshore wind farm planned for waters south of the island filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop its construction, arguing that several federal agencies violated laws intended to protect endangered species. BOEM and NOAA, which are named in the suit, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. Vineyard Wind, a joint project of a Danish company and a U.S. subsidiary of the Spanish energy giant, Iberdrola, also declined to comment. Vallorie Oliver, another Nantucket resident and group member, argues federal officials haven’t provided adequate research to back up their claims that the wind project will have minimal impact on the right whales and other marine life. >click to read< – Concern about endangered right whales cited in lawsuit over Nantucket Wind Farm – ACK Residents Against Turbines said Vineyard 
Wind’s proposed project of some 60 turbines 22 kilometres south of the island is in a crucial area for foraging and nursing for the species, which researchers estimate number less than 400. Mary Chalke, a Nantucket resident and member of the opposition group, said the lawsuit isn’t just about Vineyard Wind, but other turbine projects also in the pipeline up and down the Eastern Seaboard. >click to read< 17:35
Crackpottery? A Ropeless Future for Lobster Fishing, they say!
The object thrown overboard was not in fact a trap but a ropeless fishing system deployed in a demonstration for passengers on the boat, including a film crew, a reporter and three people who study or advocate for right whales. Zack Klyver chartered the boat and arranged the demonstration. Through his consultancy, Blue Planet Strategy, he has been working as an intermediary between manufacturers, whale advocates and lobstermen, who find themselves on various sides of a regulatory survival equation as the federal government moves to protect endangered right whales. In ropeless fishing, Klyver sees a potential win for everyone involved, but getting there may take time and a fair amount of persuasion. Some funky photos, >click to read< 17:40
Mass DMF – Effective May 14, Seasonal Trap Gear Closure and Speed Restrictions Lifted
Beginning tomorrow, commercial trap fishermen may set their gear in those waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth east and north of Cape Cod up to the New Hampshire border. These waters have been closed to trap gear fishing since February 1. Additionally, mariners operating vessels less than 65’ overall length may run them at speeds greater than 10 knots. Operators of vessels with an overall length of 65’ or greater are reminded the federal 10 knot speed limit remains in effect in Cape Cod Bay Seasonal Management Area through May 15. >click to read< 18:36
A “Must Read” for Media and Politicians – Seeing the bigger picture on right whales
Someone should point out to the media that the right whale population has shown dramatic growth from the 1990s up until the last few years, when birth rates leveled off. Without a doubt, 2017 to 2019 was a terrible time period for them,,, It is irresponsible for any scientist or oceanographer to take an extreme year (2017) and say that the population is headed to extinction. The bigger picture shows a much more hopeful story. By Jack Merrill, >click to read< 10:27
Shortsighted Petition about whale regulations in Mass draws response from Maine
Enviro groups have filed a petition with the NMFS seeking immediate emergency action requiring the commercial fishing industry to protect endangered right whales from entanglement off the coast of Massachusetts. Members of Maine’s Congressional delegation responded in opposition to that petition with a letter to the Department of Commerce, calling it shortsighted. The petition suggests ropeless fishing could be used, and even though it targets Massachusetts, Maine’s commercial fishing industry is watching, according to Mike Dassatt, who is on the board of the Downeast Lobsterman’s Association,, “We need to be supporting Massachusetts because here in Maine, it would put way too many people out of business,”,, >click to read< 07:15
Zone C lobster council OK’s trawl limit plan for new whale protection rules
Zone C Lobster Management Council held a special meeting on the internet in late September to get an update on the situation from Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and consider a zone-specific plan for gear modifications that will likely be required by NMFS. On Aug. 19, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg gave NMFS nine months to craft new rules to protect endangered right whales from entanglement,,, DMR asked the state’s seven Lobster Zone Management Councils to come up with zone-specific proposals,,, Last week, the Zone C council met to consider the recommendations of its working group. >click to read< 16:07
Gideon Makes Bremen Waterfront First Stop After Primary Win
Sara Gideon of Freeport is the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. She will challenge four-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, in the fall. On Wednesday, July 15, Gideon met with lobstermen at the Bremen Lobster Pound Co-Op and went out on the fishing vessel Four of a Kind with lobsterman Shannon Harvey and his family. Harvey told Gideon that restrictions on fishing gear related to right whales, as well as plans for offshore wind development, are just two of the challenges facing the Maine lobster industry. >lick to read< 17:21
DFO closes fishing area after right whales spotted in Gulf
DFO is implementing the first season-long fishing closure of the year after North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. DFO says a cluster of eight grids in the middle of the Gulf will be closed until November 15. In a release, the department says the closure is expected to have minimal impacts on nearby fishing areas for crab, lobster and groundfish. >click to read< 14:52
Asking? The Feds are asking!!! Fed asking ships to slow down in Cabot Strait to protect right whales
Transport Canada is trying a new voluntary speed limit in the Cabot Strait as a part of its plan to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
First announced in February, the voluntary speed limit would see vessels over 13 metres long slow down to 10 knots in a portion of the Cabot Strait between April 28 to June 15 and Oct. 1 to Nov. 15.,, Another measure impacting the Cabot Strait and Gulf of St. Lawrence is the government’s push to get more marine mammal observers on board vessels throughout the region. Sanders said Transport Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are working closely with shipping companies, cruise lines and ferry operators to get trained observers on board. more >click to read< 07:03
P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association want answers about new whale restrictions
Among the new rules, Transport Canada has identified a sensitive area off western P.E.I. that it’s calling the Shediac Valley. Boats won’t be allowed in unless absolutely necessary, but exact boundaries have not yet been set. “The coordinates won’t actually be set until after the whales arrive,” said Melanie Giffin, marine biologist for the association. “So we don’t actually know the location of that box until the whales are here and aggregating. So there’s still some confusion around that.” >click to read< 11:48
NMFS: Maine’s proposal to keep right whales from getting entangled in lobstering gear doesn’t go far enough
The National Marine Fisheries Service has concluded that Maine’s plan to use a combination of weak rope and a 25 percent reduction in the number of buoy lines in state waters achieves, at best, a 52 percent risk reduction, while federal regulators are demanding a 60 percent reduction. “Because your proposal does not meet the 60 percent risk reduction target, we will be obligated to consider additional measures through our federal rulemaking,” said Michael Pentony, regional administrator of NMFS’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. includes letter, >click to read< 08:09
Further protection measures coming to protect North Atlantic right whales
Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan says Ottawa will announce further measures in the coming weeks to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Speaking to a fishing gear innovation summit in Halifax today, Jordan didn’t release any details of the coming measures.,, The minister says testing also continues on new technology such as ropeless gear, which could help reduce the risk of entanglements for whales. More than 250 harvesters and fishing gear manufacturers from Canada, the United States, Iceland and Norway are attending the two-day summit. >click to read< 12:50
Race is on to get East Coast crab boats on the water before right whales return
The Canadian Coast Guard committed Tuesday to doing all it can to help East Coast crab fishermen get on the water before the right whales arrive in the area. “What we’re trying to do now is assist the fishermen to get out as soon as they can by opening the harbours as soon as we can,”Carter Hutt, president pf the Prince Edward Island Snowcrab Association said in a phone interview that it is best if all fishermen get to go fishing at the same time, so that the fish plants have enough product to reach peak production,, >click to read< 10:25
Federal regulations to protect right whales are delayed until at least this summer
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for protecting the critically endangered species, had planned to issue the regulations last year. But they were delayed after months of criticism from the region’s powerful lobster industry, which is worried that new requirements could be harsh and expensive. >click to read< 18:03
Canada imposing mandatory gear marking for lobster, and crab fisheries in 2020
Specially coloured rope will become mandatory with the start of the season in every lobster and crab fishery in Eastern Canada. The rope must identify the region, species being fished and individual fishing area. The requirement is also intended to maintain access to the United States seafood market by demonstrating Canada has rules comparable to those in place for American fishermen. >click to read< 07:20
Editorial: Without ‘share the seas’ pact, Canada risks crab boycott
We can’t wait until the boycott is unleashed, as Canada did with the Brigitte Bardot/Greenpeace-led boycott of seal products. Then it’s too late. Public opinion, once formed, is often impossible to rewind. The European Union is no longer interested in seeing seal products for sale in Europe, and with that, the entire predatory hierarchy of the Gulf was thrown off kilter and remains so to this day. Human beings are predators. Remove the largest predator from an ecosystem and there will be an immediate problem, as was demonstrated here. We risk the same kind of disaster with the crab fishery if the Canadian government does not take the American threat seriously. by Clive Doucet >click to read< 08:13
Senator Warren wants proof Canada is doing as much as the U.S. to protect right whales
Canada is defending measures it has taken to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, as political pressure and blame mounts from the United States in the wake of a rash of whale deaths in Canadian waters in 2019. “We’re very confident that our measures are world-class in nature and stand up extremely well to those in the United States,” said Adam Burns, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ director of resource management. Burns was responding to the latest salvo from Massachusetts senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, who are threatening a ban of some Atlantic Canadian seafood products. >click to read< 19:08
D.C. court rules fisheries remain closed to help right whales
Thursday, a federal district judge ruled two lobster fisheries can remain closed to protect the lives of right whales moving through the area. The case began nearly two years ago as a set of environmental groups Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife and the Humane Society of the United States filed a complaint against the federal government because they disputed the finding of “no jeopardy” to right whales in the lobster fisheries, despite the finding that an average of 3.25 right whales a year would die through gillnet fishing operations. >click to read< 10:31
Lobstermen hear proposed measures to mitigate danger to right whales
Patrick Keliher, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, explained the plan the DMR will submit to the federal government, hoping the proposal is strong enough to meet guidelines.,, Correction, George Michael Bernier, who fishes out of Gouldsboro, said the proposed changes — while more palatable than the previous plan — still increase the danger and the cost for fishermen. Bernier said plenty of fishermen have thought of selling out but said they are just in too deep. Many would face bankruptcy if they did so,,, Video, >click to read< 06:20
‘It Sucks … But I’m Going To Try It’ — Officials Present Proposed New Gear Rules To Maine Lobstermen – >click to read<
Maine proposes targeted exemptions to help lobster industry weather whale crisis – >click to read<
MLA Decision Disappoints, NOAA will continue to work with the Maine lobster industry
Although the Maine lobster industry formally withdrew its support of the near consensus agreement, members of the Maine caucus have stated a willingness to continue to work with the agency, the Take Reduction Team, the state of Maine, and their members to identify measures that address the risk that the Maine lobster fishery poses to right whales. We stand ready to continue to assist Maine in whatever way possible to achieve the necessary level of risk reduction to these critically endangered whales.,, >click to read< 13:27
Massachusetts Lobstermen Test Ropeless Fishing Gear to Save Right Whales
Researchers say conservationists and the fishing industry must work together to save the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Only about 400 of these whales are left living in the wild, and scientists say human activity is to blame. Proposed federal regulations,,, But these measures drastically reduce the number of lines lobstermen are allowed to have in the water. That’s why Massachusetts lobstermen are eager to try new technology that would enable them to set their traps without a vertical line. Patrick Ramage is director of marine conservation for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.,,, >click to read<10:33
Ropeless Fishing Gear Could Aid Maine’s Lobster Industry, Endangered Whales – >click to read<
Lobstermen threatened with the extinction of their way of life
The word “extinction” has been thrown around a lot lately by environmental groups,,, Large, well-funded, out-of-state environmental groups would have you believe that these whales are going extinct and that Maine fishing gear entanglement is a major reason why. These groups have proposed things like ropeless fishing and refuse to believe that ideas like this are not practical in Maine. Can you imagine how a fisherman could set his 20- to 30-trap trawl into water 300 to 400 feet deep, not knowing where any of his competitors’ trawls might have been set days before? >click to read< 11:37
Ships are getting speeding tickets in the Chesapeake Bay to protect right whales
Eight years ago the COSCO Nagoya, a giant ship capable of carrying more than 4,000 cargo containers, was motoring around the Chesapeake Bay when it ran into a speed trap. Three months later, the Nagoya got dinged again for speeding, this time near the Port of Charleston. Over the next several months, the Nagoya was caught 13 more times up and down the east coast, from South Carolina to New York. Each speeding violation came with a price tag of $5,750 for a total of $86,250 in fines. >click to read< 13:43
About 70 frustrated fishermen tell feds at a hearing in Machias that Canada, not Maine, is mostly to blame.
About 70 fishermen came to the first fisheries service public meeting in Maine on the latest round of lobster rule changes being considered to protect the endangered whales. They expressed safety fears and their mounting frustration. The state’s $485 million-a-year lobster industry is facing a federal mandate to lower the number of buoy lines in the Gulf of Maine by 50 percent to protect right whales.,,, >click to read< 12:09
101 lost snow crab traps, 9 km of rope removed from gulf to protect right whales
Federal fishery officers and Canadian Coast Guard crews have removed 101 lost snow crab traps and more than nine kilometres of associated rope from the Gulf of St. Lawrence as part of ongoing efforts to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. The so-called ghost gear,,, Ropeless gear holds hope, Earlier this week, during a stop in Dieppe to discuss whale protection efforts, Jonathan Wilkinson,,, “But certainly from a fisheries perspective we see that as a very, very interesting way to address and separate the issues of fishing versus the whales.” >click to read< 21:36
Policymakers unite around lobstermen, By Reps. Billy Bob Faulkingham and Will Tuell
Unless you have had your head stuck in a bait pocket the past few months, you know by now that Maine’s lobster fishing industry is facing two major crises – a shortage of available and affordable bait, as well as a set of new rules and regulations designed to protect rare right whales while at the same time devastating the very fishermen who have fueled our local and state economy for generations.,,, That is why it is so refreshing to see folks across the political spectrum — arch foes on many things — united with fishermen (who themselves have been splintered over the years) to put our fishing industry first. >click to read<11:10
Mills comes out against ‘foolish’ federal regulations to protect right whales
Gov. Janet Mills is directing the Maine Department of Marine Resources to come up with an alternative to a federal plan to protect the endangered right whale from the state lobster industry, saying she won’t allow “foolish” regulations to make life harder for the state’s fishermen.,,, Some fishermen complained that it took Mills too long to come to their defense, and some worried her feisty tone might prompt federal regulators to take even more drastic action to protect the right whale, but many welcomed the support from the Blaine House. “It’s nice to know the governor was listening to us,” said Cutler lobsterman Kristan Porter, the head of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. >click to read< 18:30
Meetings Begin On New Lobster Gear Rules To Protect Right Whales
Maine lobstermen will meet with state marine resources officials in Trenton Tuesday evening to consider coming regulations that could force the industry to reduce by half the amount of fixed-gear trap rope placed in the ocean.,, Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, says it’s a difficult but attainable goal, whether through reducing actual per-boat trap numbers or by sinking more traps per line in the water.,,, Tonight’s meeting of the Lobster Zone B Council starts at 6 p.m. at the Trenton Elementary School. The Department of Marine Resources has scheduled such meetings in each of the state’s seven lobster zones over the course of this month. >click to read<12:21
