Lobster fishermen sparred with fishery regulators and conservationists over proposed rules to limit endangered right whale entanglements in fishing gear during an August 12 meeting at the University of Maine at Machias. While a number of fishermen said they had never seen a right whale in the state's waters and argued that the whales are not becoming entangled in Maine lobster gear, whale-watchers reported they have seen numerous right whales off the state. And biologists stated that the source of gear in which whales have become entangled rarely can be determined.
     The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has decided on a take reduction target of 60% for the New England lobster fishery to reduce serious injuries and mortalities in the U.S. commercial fisheries to less than one right whale a year. Recommendations made by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team for the Maine lobster fishery include reducing by half the number of vertical lines in state waters; limiting the upper 75% of each vertical line in federal waters to a strength equivalent of 1,700 pounds breaking strength -- weak toppers -- so that whales can break free; and making additional gear marking requirements, to help identify where entanglements are occurring.
     Fishermen suggested that marking Maine endlines differently from anywhere else should be done first, so it can be determined whether right whales are becoming entangled in Maine gear. Another suggested waiting until "Canada and everybody else comes up to where we are now" with regulations to protect whales before enacting more rules for Maine fishermen. However, the Canadian government has implemented a number of measures to protect right whales from ship strikes and entanglements since 2017.
     Michael Asaro, marine mammal and sea turtle branch chief of NMFS' Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, noted that 85% of right whales have been entangled at least once, with the population in 2017 estimated at 411. Their northern range has increased in recent years because of changing environmental conditions, with a high number of mortalities in Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence, where 12 whales died in 2017 and eight so far this year. "There's a lot of uncertainty about the future distribution of right whales," he stated. He also noted that there is uncertainty about where whales have become entangled, with one whale found dead off Virginia in January having been entangled in Canadian snow crab fishery gear from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While up to 100 right whales a year encounter gear entanglements, the exact location of where the entanglements occurred is known in only 13 incidents from 1997 through 2017.
     Fishermen seized on the statement that, since 2009, no entanglements can be traced back to the Maine lobster fishery, while Colleen Coogan, the Marine Mammal Take Reduction Team coordinator, pointed out that it's rare when the source of the line can be determined. Amy Knowlton, a right whale researcher with the New England Aquarium, stated that "it's not really accurate to say there have been no mortalities in Maine," since one can't tell where the entanglement occurred if there is no line attached when a dead whale is found. Of 1,400 entanglements, only 105 had gear attached, and only a percentage of that number could be traced back to the source of the gear.

Low turnout at meeting
     The August 12 meeting was attended by less than a quarter of the number of fishermen who attended the Maine Department of Marine Resources' meeting in June at UMM to discuss the whale entanglement rules. Harrington fisherman Joel Strout told the NMFS representatives that the turnout was low because for "the last 15 to 20 years you've done whatever you want." He said Maine fishermen shouldn't have to make any changes "till Canada does at least what we do. Why are we protecting something we don't even see?"
     Fishermen stated that Canadian fishermen use float rope, which lies on the top of the water and which they felt is a significant cause of entanglements. Since 2009 Maine fishermen have been required to use sinking groundlines and, since 2015, also have been required, outside of an exemption line, to place more traps on a trawl, so that there are fewer endlines. Coogan agreed that more needs to be done to reduce entanglements in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
     Maine Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher pointed out that over 70% of the lobster fishery's vertical lines are close to shore, within the existing exemption line where the trawling up and gear-marking requirements do not apply. He urged NMFS to keep the exemption line in its new proposal, "given the science shows that regulating exempted waters would not have a significant benefit to right whales," as they are unlikely to be found close to shore. He also stated, "Placing further regulations on the Maine lobster fishery will not improve the status of the right whale population if mortalities continue in Canada."
     As for the recommendation of a 50% reduction in trap endlines, Keliher noted the difficulties and safety concerns that would be created by requiring more traps per trawl, both inshore, where up to four traps per line could be required, and offshore, where up to 40 traps per trawl might be mandated. He said the endline reduction "requires the lion's share of the burden to fall on the inshore area inside the exemption line, where we know the benefit to whales will be minimal. From a pragmatic standpoint, this is not a defensible approach." The DMR is working with the industry to develop a proposal that would achieve the risk reduction target "without significant adverse social and economic impacts to the fishery."
     John Drouin of Cutler, who has fished the waters of Cutler and Machias Seal Island for 40 years, stated that he had never seen a right whale in those waters, as did a number of other fishermen. He believes the Maine representatives on the take reduction team "were negotiating with terrorists -- they were being told to reduce our fishery or we will be forced to reduce." He added, "The Maine team agreed to a 60% risk reduction to the whales -- whales that are not dying in Maine waters!"
     "To be asking Maine fishermen to fix a problem when there doesn't appear to be a problem in Maine waters, and to be told to do so with flawed science, is preposterous!"
     While fishermen would be willing to mark their gear, he felt the existing exemption line should continue. They "probably can to do more with trawling up," but most "can't do 40-trap trawls." Such requirements will put lives at risk, he said, and "all options will make fishermen less productive."
     Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA), also urged that efforts should be focused on addressing ship strikes in the U.S. and Canada and entanglements in Canadian waters, which are the main causes of right whale mortalities. "The shutdown of the Maine lobster fishery would not have prevented those deaths," she stated, adding that the percentage of right whales detected in Maine waters has declined since 2010. The MLA "will only support measures that lower risk," including expanded gear marking and tagging devices.
     However, Zack Klyver of the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company, who has led over 3,000 whale-watching trips, said he has seen many right whales off Maine, including 35 between Cashes Ledge and Jordan Basin on one trip, but he said "the vast majority" are offshore in 300 feet or more of water. "If you want to make a difference, you need to make changes offshore, not near shore," he said. "I have personally seen dozens of whales entangled in Maine lobster gear," he said. Klyver felt an offshore seasonal closure would be more effective than other measures.
     Leah Baumwell, a fisheries biologist with the Pew Charitable Trust, felt that NMFS's proposed measures "are insufficient" and proposed two closed areas, including the deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine. She also suggested that ropeless fishing gear would be the most effective way to reduce entanglements. Beals lobsterman Richard Smith, though, stated that ropeless gear would "never work."
     Sean Mahoney of the Conservation Law Foundation pointed out that 70% of the lines Maine's three million lobster traps "are not marked." Often the carcasses of dead whales "don't have any ropes on them, but they have marks all over their bodies." He recommended marking all gear -- "let's stop fighting that;" getting more data on the causes of deaths; requiring federal permit-holders to report their locations; and considering the closure of areas. "Entanglements are a real cause of their decline," he stated.
     Knowlton of the New England Aquarium stated if Maine fishermen don't make any changes it would be "a huge risk," as they could aggregate in the state's waters as they have done in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. "I understand there will be a huge impact to fishermen, but right whales need your help."
     There will be two more opportunities for public input on the proposed rules -- later this year and early next year -- as NMFS goes through its rule-making process.