Judge rules lobster fishing impact on right whales needs study
Courtesy / NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
A federal judge ruled the impact of lobster fishing on endangered North Atlantic right whales hasn’t been fully analyzed.
A judge has ruled that federal fishery managers haven’t fully analyzed the impact of lobster fishing on endangered North Atlantic right whales.
In a decision issued April 9, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., ruled against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a lawsuit brought by a group of environmental organizations.
The decision finds that NOAA violated the Endangered Species Act when it authorized the lobster fishery without appropriately analyzing its impact on right whales.
“We must do whatever it takes to ensure right whales are here for future generations, and that starts with obeying the Endangered Species Act,” Erica Fuller, a senior attorney with Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation, said in a news release. “The ruling provides an incentive for fishermen and scientists to forge a new path that protects right whales while also sustaining the lobster industry.”
Conservation Law Foundation joined the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Humane Society of the United States in the case, which argued that the agency unlawfully allowed the fishery to operate despite the threat their lines pose to right whales along the East Coast.
In his decision, Boasberg wrote that the fishery service’s failure to include an incidental take statement after finding that the fishery had the potential to harm right whales at three times sustainable levels was “about as straightforward a violation of the ESA as they come.”
The lawsuit centered on the National Marine Fishery Service’s responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The federal agency is also responsible for authorizing the lobster fishery, whose thick vertical fishing lines entangle and harm right whales.
The impacts of the decision are unknown, “but may come very quickly,” Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher wrote to the lobster industry on April 10.
“In all of the many industry meetings last year we focused on the federal rule making, and on trying to achieve the best outcome for Maine through that process,” Keliher wrote. “However, I also described the federal lawsuits as a ‘wild card,’ meaning it's hard to predict how lawsuits will impact future whale rules. I am afraid that's the case with this decision right now.”
The agency is reviewing the decision to determine what its means for Maine's lobster industry and what next steps Maine can take, he wrote.
"To be clear, the judge’s decision does not impact your ability to fish at this time,” he wrote. “Maine's lobster fishery remains open.”
There are about 400 North Atlantic right whales remaining, and at least 30 whales have died since the summer of 2017.
In January, the Department of Marine Resources submitted a proposal to the National Marine Fisheries Service to reduce the risk of an entanglement by North Atlantic right whales in lobster gear from occurring and minimize the potential of serious injury and mortality in the event an entanglement occurs.
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