May 8, 2013 โ The following is an excerpt from the Conservation Law Foundation's Talking Fish story, "Wrong Move for Right Whales", originally published April 16.
A pending decision on fishing for cod and other groundfish in New England has big implications for marine mammals including some of the most endangered animals in our waters, the North Atlantic right whale.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is weighing a proposal that would expand commercial fishing into some 5,000 sq. miles of protected waters inside what are known as โgroundfish closed areasโ along the New England coast. More than 100 scientists sent a letter warning NOAA that this is a bad move for fish. But thatโs not all. Scientists and conservationists also raised red flags about the potential harm to right whales, humpback whales, and harbor porpoises if NOAA ends protection for the closed areas.
As this map shows, hundreds of right whale sightings have been documented in the closed areas.
โOpening these currently closed areas to fishing only increases the overall risk of entanglement for whales,โ said Sierra Weaver, an attorney formerly with the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife. Defenders joined the New England Aquarium, the Humane Society of the U.S. and other groups in a letter to NOAA. The letter explains that fishing vessels are already accidentally killing too many of the areaโs two most endangered species of large whale, the right and humpback whales. And allowing commercial fishing in areas that have been safe harbor for these animals will only make matters worse.
โWith only about 400 North Atlantic right whales left, every loss is a blow to this critically endangered population,โ Weaver added.
Read the full story at the Conservation Law Foundation
Analysis: Marine mammals are among the many species that merit consideration in the debate over modifying fishing area closures in Georges Bank. While the Conservation Law Foundation is correctly worried about the status of the critically endangered right whale, itโs unlikely that the modifications to the closed areas recommended under Framework 48 will negatively impact right whales or other marine mammals.
The bottom trawlers that stand to benefit from Framework 48 are not themselves a significant threat to right whales. They do not disturb right whale habitats, and do not interfere with the whalesโ food sources. Trawlers will not be in direct contact with right whales in much of the area covered by Framework 48, as most right whale sightings have occurred in areas outside of the closures or in areas closed for habitat protection. These habitat areas are not under consideration for updating in this proposal.
Trawling gear also has limited contact with the whales, as most of the gear operates on the ocean bottom. The largest fishing-related threat to right whales comes from gillnets and other fixed gear, like lobster traps, that are placed vertically in the water column and therefore positioned in such a way that whales are much more likely to encounter them.
There is little concrete evidence that the proposed changes to the closed areas would actually harm right whales: โThese analyses are almost always qualitative. Itโs very difficult to come up with any definitive answers,โ said Pat Fiorelli, a spokesperson for the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC).
Maggie Mooney-Seus, Communications Officer at NOAA's Northeast Regional office, also emphasized that NOAA maintains ultimate control over protecting marine mammals. The closures are not open on an unlimited basis: the sectors in which the groundfish fishery is currently organized would need to apply for exemptions in order to enter them. So rather than a blanket opening, access to the sectors would be managed on a case-by-case basis, with NOAA evaluating the environmental effects of each individual exemption application. This still provides a mechanism for NOAA Fisheries to control right whale mortality in the closures, as they can restrict access based on the environmental impact of the exemptions or the number of right whale takes, an interaction resulting in injury or death, that occur.
Because of these possibilities, the NEFMC concluded in Framework 48 that โthe management actions proposed are consistent with the provisions of the MMPA [Marine Mammal Protection Act]โ and that โthe measures will not alter the effectiveness of existing MMPA measures, such as take reduction plans, to protect those species based on overall reductions in fishing effort that have been implemented through the [Fishery Management Plan].โ