The US federal government has not done enough to protect a rare species of whale from deadly entanglement in lobster fishing gear, and new rules are needed to protect the species from extinction, a judge ruled.
The government has violated both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act by failing to protect the North Atlantic right whale, US District Judge James Boasberg ruled Friday. Whales number less than 340 in the world and their population has been declining rapidly in recent years.
Boasberg’s ruling was a victory for conservation groups that have long sought to save the whale and a new challenge for lobster fishermen who have fought tighter restrictions on where and how they can fish. Boasberg ruled that the court’s findings “do not dictate that it should immediately shut down the US lobster fishery,” but instead said the parties must propose potential remedies to the threat facing the whales.
The ruling “may seem like a harsh outcome for the lobster industry” and the government, but no one “operates free from the stringent requirements imposed by the MMPA and ESA,” Boasberg wrote.
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Environmental groups celebrated the ruling, while some members of the fishing industry took a more measured approach.
The ruling came after a group of environmental organizations sued the federal government with a complaint that it was not doing enough to save whales from lobster traps. Boasberg’s ruling validates that claim, said Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that brought the lawsuit.
“Lobster gear is a deadly threat to right whales, and the courts are telling the federal government to stop stalling and start taking real action. The Biden administration needs to work much harder to help the industry prevent these deadly and distressing entanglements,” Monsell said.
The Maine Lobster Fishermen’s Association, the largest East Coast fishing trade group, said in a statement that it was still reviewing the ruling. The association also pointed to a section of Boasberg’s ruling that said the National Marine Fisheries Service “may find that other measures exist to reduce the lethal catch, or that the projected catch is, in fact, less than originally estimated.” That makes the ruling “a mixed bag,” the association said.
“We are encouraged that the court recognizes the great importance of Maine’s lobster heritage and appreciates the potential and unnecessary harm that could be inflicted on the men and women who work so hard to make our industry prosper,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobster Association.
Right whales give birth in Florida and Georgia and come north to New England and Canadian waters to feed. They are also at risk from deadly collisions with ships, and federal authorities are expected to issue new guidelines soon to help protect them from that threat.
Whales were once numerous but were decimated during the era of commercial whaling. Some scientists have said rising ocean temperatures are driving them away from sheltered areas in search of food, leaving them more vulnerable to collisions and entanglements.
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