DMR seeks changes to whale rules

First published in Landings, October, 2014.

In June, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued its final rule regarding the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP). The rule is designed to remove vertical lines from water in order to reduce the chance that an endangered whale might become entangled. The rule goes into effect in June, 2015.

The Final Rule caused angry ripples along the Gulf of Maine coast. In Massachusetts, for example, lobstermen found that they would be unable to fish in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays from January 1 to April 30 next year, in order to protect migrating humpback and right whales.

In Maine, the restrictions were less severe. All territory within the state’s “exemption line” is exempt from the rule. That territory comprises approximately 70% of Maine’s state waters. Those lobstermen fishing outside the exemption line will be required to “trawl up” based on zone and distance from shore (see chart). They must put 12-inch red marks on their vertical line in three places. Seasonal closures of Jordans Basin, Jeffrey’s Ledge, and other areas in the Gulf that had been proposed in an earlier version of the rule were removed.

Furthermore, a one-quarter mile area around Criehaven, Matinicus and Monhegan Islands was also made exempt from the rule. Lobstermen in those areas will continue to be able to set singles in the rocky, shallow waters. However, lobstermen who fish around other islands, including the Isle of Shoals in New Hampshire, cried “foul.” Why weren’t their islands also made exempt from the trawling up requirements of the final rule?

The MLA heard these concerns from many lobstermen and reached out to the DMR in July about getting it resolved. The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) had already requested in comments on both the proposed rule and the final Environmental Impact Statement that all islands outside the exemption line be given the one-quarter mile buffer. The agency continued to take these complaints seriously.

Thus in late September DMR made a formal application to NOAA to exempt additional islands from the final rule’s provisions. Those islands include Metinic, Little Green, Large Green, Wooden Ball, and Seal Island (called the Matinicus Island group) and the Maine islands that make up the Isles of Shoals chain.

“Our argument is that the jagged, rocky bottom around islands affects safety, regardless of vessel size,” said DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “Even fishing with pairs is not operationally feasible due to excessive hang downs from the sinking groundline and gear loss that results from the rough bottom.” Although the additional islands do not support year-round lobstering communities, the waters around them have been fished by lobstermen from other islands and the mainland for decades, or in some cases, centuries.

To get a better idea of how many traps are currently set around these islands, DMR staff flew over each island at the beginning of September to estimate the number of vertical lines within a quarter mile from shore. As a result, DMR estimates that there are 1,880 vertical lines around the Matinicus Island group. The area around the Isles of Shoals has an estimated 355 vertical lines in the water.

“The exemption would result in a total of 743 vertical lines staying in the water at the peak of the fishery,” Keliher continued. “Not only is this a small percentage of the vertical lines regulated by the plan, but they are located in an area that NMFS determined to be very unlikely to see whale occurrence due to the shallow depths.”

In its comments on earlier proposals, the MLA had twice requested that NMFS provide a process for individuals to seek a way to resolve safety concerns over fishing the required trawl limits offshore. Consequently, in September DMR asked NMFS to create a defined set of criteria for the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team to use when reviewing applications for individual vessel exemptions to the trawling up requirements.

“We know there may be some Maine lobstermen who will seek exemptions from the trawling up requirements due to safety challenges presented by the deck constraints of their particular vessel. We are concerned that these exemption requests will be difficult for NMFS to analyze and extremely challenging for the Team to review on a case-by-case basis,” Keliher said. The agency wants NMFS to collaborate with DMR, the Marine Patrol Bureau, and lobster industry organizations to come up with these specific criteria to govern review of any exemption requests from Maine lobstermen. “Furthermore, we asked that NMFS postpone the deadline for accepting trawl length exemptions for safety concerns until after the criteria is determined,” Keliher added.

“The Commissioner has demonstrated strong leadership in support of Maine’s lobster fishery on these whale rules. The MLA raised concerns about the vertical line rules and the DMR was willing to hear us out and work with us to ensure the best outcome for our lobstermen,” commented Patrice McCarron, MLA’s executive director. “We all know these rules could have been much worse, so we are relieved that the state is still willing to work with the industry to make them better.”