NOAA, NEFMC Leadership Meet with Fishermen at Forum

The use of ropeless gear in the lobster fishery in order to protect North Atlantic right whales was front and center at the Fishermen’s Forum session with federal officials. On the panel were Dan Solerno, NEFMC chairman; Jon Hare, NEFSC; Michael Petony, GARFO; Eugenio P. Soler, NMFS head; and Kate O’Keefe, NEFMC executive director.

Lobstermen's safety concerns about the use of ropeless lobster gear and worries about future right whale protection measures dominated the Forum session with federal fisheries leaders. NEFSC photo.

Jason Joyce, representing NEFSA, spoke first. “Ropeless is not safe. If you go over because of a groundline the only thing that’s going to help you is the endline,” he said. He said that NEFSA had a petition with 120 signatures opposing ropeless gear.

Joyce asked why NMFS wasn’t looking at the use of pingers, like those used on gill nets to scare off harbor porpoises, to reduce risk to right whales from lobster gear.

Fisherman Steve Woodrow told of a recent incident when he was on an offshore crabbing boat. He was caught in a groundline and went over. “It was the endline in the hauler that got me back on the boat. If that endline was in a cage [before released by an acoustic signal] how are you going to save me?” he asked.

Another audience member asked about tagging right whales in order to know their location. Jon Hare acknowledged that new tagging techniques being used with South Atlantic right whales appear successful. The Center plans to test the technology on humpbacks and finbacks in New England this summer.

Phinneas Sprague, Portland Shipyard owner, spoke of a new AIS-based system called Watchman that will show the location of whales on a vessel’s navigation station. It connects to 51 AIS stations, from Jacksonville up to Maine. “If NOAA can tell me where the whale is, I will avoid it. No fisherman wants to run them over,” Sprague said.

Audience members asked questions about NMFS's plan for the next Biological Opinion on the lobster fishery, due in 2028. Maine Fishermen's Forum photo.

Ginny Olsen asked about the Biological Opinion due from NMFS by the end of 2028. “Congress said that the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries are consistent with the MMPA and ESA until the end of 2028,” Michael Petony answered. “NMFS must have new right whale regulations in place by then. The process goes through the TRT. This fall the TRT will discuss what measures to reduce risk will be, then there will be a proposed rule. The Bio Op would follow that process. It will comply with the ESA. If the MMPA or ESA changes or the end date changes, then the process will change.”

Mike Goodwin, from Gloucester, Mass., spoke vehemently against the use of ropeless gear. “We are getting sold out to ropeless gear. It’s not the way to go,” he said. He pointed out that Maine lobstermen voluntarily took action at Jeffrey’s Basin last year to reduce risk to the right whales that turned up in January. A second Gloucester fisherman felt that NMFS was not acknowledging the efforts made by lobstermen to protect right whales. “What we are doing is working. That’s it. The mortalities are down and births are up. Weak links, breakaway lines, it’s working,” he said.

“It’s right to be cautiously optimistic,” Hare replied. “But there are regulations that say the biological removal limit is less than one whale [under the Marine Mammal Protection Act].”

He added, “Ropeless is an option. There is no intention for it to be required.”

“For the next Biological Opinion, we will have more data. Births are up, deaths are down,” Pentony said. “We can quantify what Canada has done, which we couldn’t before. There are positive impacts from the 2021 rule, yes. That will change the calculations regarding risk from the lobster fishery.”

With regard to the New England Fishery Management Council’s alternative gear marking framework, which has alarmed Maine lobstermen, Pentony said, “I can’t stress it enough. Development of ropeless gear was to provide options to lobstermen. The closed areas are closed to endlines so you can use ropeless there because there are no endlines. However, groundfish regulations do not allow that. You have to have two endlines with a buoy. So they have to modify those regulations to allow ground fishing in the closed areas. The NEFMC is trying to reconcile the regulations.”