Maine’s governor and congressional delegation launched a joint assertion Sunday morning saying they’re relieved a decide has delayed the implementation of lobster gear restrictions designed to guard endangered whales for 2 years.
However additionally they stated that this merely postpones the underlying menace to Maine’s lobster trade posed by the brand new restrictions and does nothing to meaningfully defend endangered North Atlantic proper whales.
Environmentalists had sought to pressure federal regulators to difficulty new guidelines inside six months to guard proper whales from fishing gear entanglements, however the Nationwide Marine Fisheries service stated it must postpone implementation till the top of 2024.
Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree, in addition to Gov. Janet Mills, launched the assertion Sunday morning.
“Though a two-year delay is healthier than no delay in any respect, this choice fails to deal with the underlying difficulty: NOAA’s rules have created a disaster that threatens the livelihood of hundreds of hardworking Mainers with out meaningfully defending proper whales,” they stated.
“There has by no means been a proper whale loss of life attributed to Maine lobster gear, but NOAA has frequently refused to comply with the science, and has relentlessly focused our lobster trade,” the assertion continues. “NOAA should use this pause to rigorously evaluate the information and suggest an up to date rule that displays the fact within the Gulf of Maine.”
The pinnacle of Maine’s Division of Marine Sources stated Saturday that he’s additionally happy in regards to the two-year delay, saying that if the brand new guidelines have been applied instantly, they’d have introduced financial devastation and unintended penalties to the trade.
“I’m happy that Decide Boasberg acknowledged the necessity for extra time to develop a brand new rule,” Commissioner Patrick Keliher stated in an announcement. “It’s additionally good to see that he acknowledged how necessary it’s for the (Nationwide Marine Fisheries Service) to rigorously weigh evolving scientific knowledge on this course of.”
The following two years will go quick, “so we’ll proceed to work carefully with Maine fishermen to develop a spread of measures that guarantee compliance with a altering regulatory panorama, and a resilient future for this necessary Maine trade,” Keliher stated.
Fishermen beforehand stated they’re additionally inspired by the delay.
Rep. William “Billy Bob” Faulkingham, a Winter Harbor fisherman and chief of the Republican Home minority, stated Friday that the ruling issued a day earlier by U.S. District Courtroom Decide James Boasberg was excellent news for Maine lobstermen within the wake of a number of latest authorized and public relations setbacks.
“We’re not out of the woods but,” Faulkingham informed the Press Herald. However the decide’s ruling was “positively a really hopeful choice.”
Boasberg’s ruling got here after his July choice that new, stronger guidelines are wanted to guard the precise whale from extinction. Conservation teams say proper whales are susceptible to entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes.
Environmentalists and fishing trade members have lengthy argued over the principles, with fishermen saying they’d cripple Maine’s lobster trade and that no proper whale deaths have been attributed to the lobster fishery. The final recognized proper whale entanglement was in 2004.
The inhabitants of North Atlantic proper whales is estimated at 340 and has declined lately.
Employees author Randy Billings contributed to this report.
« Earlier
Associated Tales
Invalid username/password.
Please verify your e mail to verify and full your registration.
Use the shape under to reset your password. Once you’ve submitted your account e mail, we’ll ship an e mail with a reset code.