September 12, 2022 — A federal judge has denied a request from fishing groups that sought to challenge new fishing rules designed to protect rare whales.
Judge rules against lobstermen, says federal rules protecting right whales don’t overreach
September 9, 2022 — A US District Court judge in Washington, D.C., handed a victory Thursday to environmental groups and rejected a challenge to federal rules to protect North Atlantic right whales that was brought by New England lobstermen, who argued the requirements go too far and are based on flawed data, court records show.
The ruling prompted sharp reactions from both sides of the issue.
Maine Governor Janet Mills, criticized the judge’s decision as being “so out of touch with reality.”
“The National Marine Fisheries Service has consistently interpreted the data in the most conservative way possible, without accounting for the impact of ship strikes on whales and whale entanglements in Canadian snow crab gear, putting all of the burden for right whale protection squarely on the shoulders of Maine’s lobster fishery,” Mills said in a statement.
“The good news today is that the court upheld the agency’s science,” Davenport said in an interview. “Of course, from the conservation point of view, the science has never really been in dispute. The question has been what’s the agency doing about the science. And our position has been that it’s not going far enough fast enough to meet the conservation crisis that the right whale is in.”
Lobstermen had argued that a report issued last year by the National Marine Fisheries Service that set new goals for reducing deaths of North Atlantic right whales “overstates the risks lobstering poses to the whale and consequently overregulates the industry,” according to court documents.
“Because [federal officials] overstated their industry’s risk to right whales, they contend, the Rule imposes some needless and draconian risk-reduction measures — e.g., restrictions on the number of vertical fishing lines in certain areas, seasonal closures, and the requirement that fishing lines contain weak links that whales can break free from,” Judge James E. Boasberg wrote.
Retailers pull lobster from menus after ‘red list’ warning
September 9, 2022 — Some retailers are taking lobster off the menu after an assessment from an influential conservation group that the harvest of the seafood poses too much of a risk to rare whales and should be avoided.
The organization, based at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, said in a report that the fishing industry is a danger to North Atlantic right whales because “current management measures do not go far enough to mitigate entanglement risks and promote recovery of the species.”
housands of businesses use Seafood Watch’s recommendations to inform seafood buying decisions, and many have pledged to avoid any items that appear on the red list. A spokesperson for Blue Apron, the New York meal kit retailer, said the company stopped offering a seasonal lobster box prior to the report, and all of the seafood it is currently using follows Seafood Watch’s guidelines. HelloFresh, the Germany-based meal kit company that is the largest such company operating in the U.S., also pledged shortly after the announcement to stop selling lobster.
MAINE: Maine politicians blast Seafood Watch rating that tells consumers to avoid eating lobster
September 8, 2022 — California-based Seafood Watch this week issued a recommendation to avoid Maine lobster, drawing the ire of Maine politicians.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch gave a red rating to the U.S. and Canadian lobster industries, saying they aren’t doing enough to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The whale is endangered and U.S. federal regulators have imposed new fishing gear guidelines to try to help protect the species.
A red rating from Seafood Watch recommends that consumers “take a pass on these for now,” and the group said in a statement that “Canadian and U.S. management measures do not go far enough to mitigate entanglement risks and promote recovery” of the whales.
Seafood Watch is a program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium that describes itself as “working directly with businesses and governments around the world — increasing both the market demand for, and a reliable supply of, sustainable seafood.”
MAINE: Lobstermen and lobster retailers respond to a report red listing Maine lobster
September 8, 2022 — The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has a Seafood Watch program that rates U.S. and Canadian fisheries on their sustainability. The list seeks to protect endangered species and prevent overfishing.
The watchdog group just red listed American lobster fisheries in Maine, advising consumers, retailers and restaurants to avoid purchasing lobster from Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.
The report claims that lobster gear poses a risk to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. It’s an assessment that lobstermen say is unfair and inaccurate. Entanglements are the leading cause of death for right whales but no deaths have been linked to Maine lobster gear and the gear hasn’t caused an entanglement in over a decade.
Seafood group ‘red lists’ lobster over risk to right whales
September 7, 2022 — American lobster is now on a “red list” of seafood to be avoided because of the risks lobster fisheries pose to endangered North Atlantic right whales, according to Seafood Watch, a sustainable seafood advocacy group.
Members of the Maine lobster industry are “extremely disappointed” with the listing, saying it does not take into account the many changes that the industry has enacted to protect whales.
“Lobster is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world due to the effective stewardship practices handed down through generations of lobstermen,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobsterman’s Association. “These include strict protections for both the lobster resource and right whales.”
Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday that the label is “flat out wrong.”
“(The designation) sends the wrong message about Maine lobster, and it insults thousands of hardworking lobstermen who risk their lives to put food on the table while practicing responsible stewardship and taking action to protect whales,” she said. “Consumers and businesses must see through this list and recognize that lobstermen are partners in conservation and sustainability and that the delicious Maine lobster can and should continue to be enjoyed.”
Sen. Angus King called the listing “absurd,” pointing out that there hasn’t been a documented entanglement in Maine gear since 2004, and that no documented whale deaths have been attributed to Maine gear.
Claws out! Maine lobster listed as seafood to ‘avoid,’ angering restaurateurs
September 7, 2022 — This is not the way to butter up the people of Maine.
The claws are out in the New England state after an environmental group put the region’s renowned lobsters on a list of seafood to “avoid” because their harvest is allegedly putting whales in danger.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s environment-focused seafood watch program’s decision to “red-list” the tasty crustacean left state officials steaming mad.
“This is an outrageous act with very real-world consequences, and no real scientific evidence,” US Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) fumed to The Post. “It’s infuriating.”
Industry reps and restaurateurs — including owners of beloved lobster roll joints in the Big Apple and the Hamptons — also said the list can go to shell.
MAINE: State closes commercial menhaden fishery, drawing concerns from lobstermen
August 26, 2022 — Maine’s commercial menhaden season will close Sunday, which could have implications for Maine lobstermen who depend on the fish as an affordable source of bait.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission sets a series of quotas for the commercial menhaden fishery in the Northeast, including a small-scale harvest once various thresholds have been reached. Menhaden are also referred to as pogies.
“Maine lobstermen are extremely disappointed to see the pogy fishery close since the resource is healthy and there are still plenty of fish to catch in Maine,” Patrice McCarron, executive director for the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said in an email.
Judge rules lobster gear regulations will go into effect while challenged in court
August 22, 2022 — The suit was filed by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association against the National Marine Fisheries Service, and a final ruling is expected by the end of September.
A key Maine lobster bait is booming. Soon fishermen may be able to catch more.
August 22, 2022 — While more menhaden are swimming through Maine waters in recent years, the state’s quotas for the important bait fish haven’t kept pace with the growing influx.
But that could soon change as the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate regulatory body that oversees several species along the eastern seaboard, is considering new provisions that could increase catch quotas in Maine.
Menhaden, commonly known as pogies, have become a top lobster bait as herring Right now, Maine has 0.52 percent of the overall quota for the east coast, just slightly above the 0.5 percent minimum quota that is available to every state in the region. But that doesn’t line up with the number of menhaden, often called pogies, that have been in the Gulf of Maine in recent years.
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