NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued its final rule for changes to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALTWRP).
U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued this statement.
“I am disappointed that NMFS did not carefully consider the full economic impact on Maine’s fishing industry in calculating the exemption line or the implementation date. While I appreciate that NMFS did incorporate some of the recommendations I made with regard to moving the exemption line further offshore as proposed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, it is discouraging that Maine’s lobster industry will be forced to comply with a rule that did not sufficiently analyze how Maine’s lobster industry will be affected. Supporting efforts to protect our endangered whale populations is critical, but in doing so, we must make sure federal regulations are effective, balanced, and fair. Unfortunately, the rule published by NMFS fails to strike this balance.”
Last month, Senator Collins sent comments to the Assistant Administrator of NOAA Fisheries, Bill Hogarth, on proposed regulations drafted by NMFS that would require Maine’s lobster industry to comply with gear modifications intended to protect North American whale populations. The gear modifications mandate that floating groundlines, which connect one trap to another, be replaced with sinking groundlines. With the exception of certain exempted areas, the final rule bans floating groundlines from Maine to Florida. Inside the exemption areas, Maine’s lobstermen will be allowed to continue to use floating groundlines, which are critical to prevent lobster gear from becoming entangled on Maine’s rocky underwater habitat.
Senator Collins urged NMFS to consider the best available science to place the exemption line and to consider the delaying the implementation date to account for the difficulty of converting fishing gear mid season and to give rope manufacturers time to supply the market.
The following is the full text of the letter.
September 24, 2007
Dr. Bill Hogarth
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Dear Dr. Hogarth:
I am writing to comment on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for amending the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALTWRP). The fishing industry is an important component of Maine’s economy, and changes to the ALTWRP will affect many lobstermen throughout my state. I am concerned that the preferred alternative proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not fully account for the economic hardship such a rule will have on Maine’s fishing communities.
I appreciate that NOAA Fisheries Service in working with the State of Maine has developed an exemption line that excludes some of Maine’s rock bottom habitat. Such an exemption line is supported by 35 years of sound science collected by the Northeast Fisheries Service Center. These data, which tracks whale sightings and monitors right whale feeding habits, are the right measure for determining the appropriate balance of protecting whales and minimizing impacts on the lobster industry. An accurately positioned exemption line is critical for the protection of large whales, but is also critical to ensure the economic viability of lobstermen who rely on floating groundline to avoid catching on rocky bottom areas. As more precise data become available, I believe the exemption line should be positioned accordingly.
I am also concerned the proposed implementation date for the sinking groundline provision ignores certain practical realities that accompany such profound industry-wide change. First, rope manufacturers have reported to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association that they are unable to supply the quantity of sinking groundline to meet the demand by Maine’s fixed-gear fishing industry. Second, mandating that the sinking groundline rule be implemented by October of 2008 poses a significant impediment to Maine’s lobstermen who would be required to convert their gear mid-season. Alternatively, an implementation date at the end of the fishing season would facilitate a more realistic transition from floating to sinking groundline. To provide more time to produce sinking, or low-profile, rope, and to implement a rule that better aligns with the natural fishing cycle, I urge you to move the implementation date from October 2008, to June of 2010, as proposed by the State of Maine.
While the NMFS preferred alternative notes that the cost to comply with the proposed regulation is approximately $14 million annually, I am concerned that the adverse economic impact on small, family-owned vessels could be far more extensive. The Government Accountability Office conducted a report to determine the extent to which NMFS assessed the costs to the fishing industry in developing revisions to ALWTRP. The report, released in July, concluded that NMFS’s economic assessment did not reflect significant uncertainties that remain in order to better understand the impact gear modifications will have on fishing communities.
While I certainly support the overall goal of the ALWTRP to protect the right whale, I believe that any changes to these regulations must fully consider the economic impact those changes will have on Maine’s lobster industry. I believe that further analysis of the regulatory cost of this rule is required and suggest that reasonable alternatives be considered that would achieve the goal of protecting the right whale while reducing the burden on our lobstermen.
The Maine lobster industry is an environmentally responsive fishery that
has worked hard to protect endangered whales. To avoid imposing an undue burden on this industry, I would urge NMFS to take into account my comments, as well as those from the Maine DMR and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, and adopt the recommendations outlined in GAO’s report before implementing revisions to the ALWTRP.
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