Mills to NOAA: Focus on true risk to right whales

COURTESY / NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION In a letter to federal regulators, Gov. Janet Mills said the risk to the North Atlantic right whale doesn’t lie with Maine’s lobster fishery. This image shows a North Atlantic right whale mother and calf sighted in 2014. The breeding population has declined over the past decade, according to the regulators.

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By Staff

Gov. Janet Mills says the risk to the North Atlantic right whale doesn’t lie with Maine’s lobster fishery.

Mills submitted comments to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service on pending rules designed to protect the endangered right whale, according to a news release.

In a letter to NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver, Mills said Maine supports the protection, but emphasized that NOAA should take into account where the true risk to the species lies, emphasizing that data shows most recent right whale deaths have occurred in Canada.

Mills also highlighted the importance of the lobster industry to the state and underscored its commitment to conservation.

“The Maine lobster fishery is the cornerstone of Maine’s coastal economy and an iconic part of the state’s identity,” she wrote. “In many coastal communities, particularly in rural parts of the coast, almost every person and job is related to the lobster fishery.”

Mills said that, in the last decade, there have been zero right whale serious injuries or mortalities linked to the Maine lobster fishery.

“However, even with this record, the lobster fishery is being asked to do more,” she wrote.

In response to a proposed 60% risk reduction target assigned by NOAA in July, Mills wrote a letter to Maine’s lobster industry, expressing support and calling the regulations “foolish, unsupported, and ill-advised.” In the letter, she directed Commissioner of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher to evaluate a different risk reduction target that is commensurate to any actual risk posed by the Maine lobster industry.

“We want to protect the right whale, but to do it in the right way, one that considers the safety of Maine fishermen and the viability of our fishing economy,” Mills said in the release.

The Department of Marine Resources will share its findings with industry in the coming weeks prior to providing a draft plan to NOAA.

“Data is clear that Canada is responsible for the vast majority of recent deaths, with eight right whale deaths occurring this year alone,” Mills wrote. “This should not be a surprise. Studies show right whales are spending more time in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at a time when Canada has weakened its protection to right whales. The Maine lobster fishery and the Department of Marine Resources remain dedicated to strengthening protections to right whales, but we continue to stress that NOAA’s focus must take into account where the true risk lies.”

Lobstering provides direct employment for more than 4,800 Maine harvesters and supports over $1 billion in indirect economic impact through the supply chain, including wholesale dealers, processors, gear suppliers, bait suppliers and freight companies. The lobster industry is also a critical driver of Maine’s tourism economy, which is worth over $6 billion annually to the state.

NOAA rulemaking is set to begin this coming winter, for implementation in 2021.

In comments made at a series of meetings, hosted by the Department of Marine Resources over the summer, fishermen generally said that right whales aren’t present in the waters where they fish, and that entanglements and ship strikes are occurring in Canadian waters, not Maine waters.

Last week, an extremely decomposed North Atlantic right whale was found floating south of Long Island, N.Y. The cause of death hasn’t yet been determined, according to a news release. The whale had previously been seen entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Aug. 6.