Maine lobstermen have been at the forefront of right whale conservation and research efforts for the last 25 years. We have removed 30,000 miles of rope from the water by taking out buoy lines and using rope that sinks between our traps. We rig our gear so that there is never rope floating on the surface where a right whale might feed, we’ve added weak links to our buoy lines so whales can break free and added unique marks to our buoy lines so we know if Maine lobster gear is responsible for an entanglement.
These measures have worked. There has not been a documented right whale entanglement in Maine lobster gear in nearly 20 years and Maine lobster gear has never been known to kill a right whale.
Despite this work, we have had a judge decide against us in a lawsuit from Conservation Law Foundation, forcing us to reduce our “risk” to Right Whales by 98%. This will end Lobstering as we know it.
Monterey Bay Aquarium put us on their “red list”, telling people to “avoid” lobster. Thousands of retailers follow the guidance of their list that is supposed to be based on “sustainability”. Maine lobster is probably the most sustainable and well managed fishery in the world!
“The federal district court and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have failed Maine’s lobster industry. It has become crystal clear that neither grasp the devastating impacts their decisions will have on the Maine lobster industry, our coastal communities and the State of Maine. The court’s decision provides a blank check for NMFS to continue to use admitted “worst case scenarios” and disregard actual data in its regulation of a fishery that has zero documented right whale entanglements over the last 18 years. This disappointding decision puts the future of Maine’s lobstering heritage at great risk and along with it, the livelihoods of thousands of hard-working men and women. But this is not the end. We won’t go down without a fight,” -Maine Lobstermen’s Association
24 окт 2024
