Senator Collins Testifies at NOAA Meeting in Support of Maine’s Lobster Industry
Portland, ME—This evening, U.S. Senator Susan Collins testified in support of Maine’s lobster industry at an in-person scoping meeting hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Hundreds of Maine lobstermen and women attended the forum, which was held at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall. The purpose of the meeting was to solicit public comments on the agency’s modifications to its right whale rule.
“The men and women who make up Maine's iconic lobster fishery are facing a terrible crisis, a crisis not of their making, a crisis that is due to this administration's onerous regulations,” Senator Collins told NOAA officials. “I could not believe tonight when I saw the presentation saying that this plan is ‘based on a solid scientific foundation.’ That is simply not the case.”
Senator Collins listed several facts that NOAA has failed to take into account: 1) Maine lobstermen have removed more than 30,000 miles of line from the water, 2) There has not been a known right whale entanglement with Maine lobster gear since 2004, 3) There has never been a right whale death attributed to Maine lobster gear, and 4) As the Gulf of Maine warms, right whales have moved farther north to follow their primary food source.
“Despite this overwhelming evidence, NOAA has continually refused to follow the science,” Senator Collins continued. “Instead, it relentlessly targets the Maine lobster industry, and that is simply unfair. These new regulations will not meaningfully protect the right whale. That's why we're so frustrated. But they will threaten the livelihood of hard working Mainers. In fact—and again, I point to a diagram tonight, the one with the lines running down to the traps—if NOAA proceeds to implement that diagram, it will not only threaten the livelihood of Maine lobstermen, it will threaten their lives. It will endanger their lives.”
Senator Collins recommended that NOAA take two actions that would actually protect right whales: working with Canada on managing Canadian snow gear and focusing on ship strikes, which have been responsible for right whale deaths in the St. Lawrence Seaway.
“I urge you, I ask you, to carefully consider what you hear tonight,” Senator Collins concluded. “These men and women are out on the water every day. They know their industry. They care about the ocean habitat, and they can guide you to the truth.”
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Senator Collins has steadfastly opposed NOAA’s right whale rule, which has placed undue burdens on Maine’s lobster fishery without meaningfully protecting right whales.
Following the release of the final rule in late August 2021, the Maine Delegation and Governor Mills issued a statement opposing the rule and highlighting the significant actions the Maine lobster industry has taken to protect right whales, including modifying their practices and gear. In October 2021, they wrote to Secretary Raimondo to urge her to rescind the rule, and in February 2022 and again in March 2022, they called for a postponement of the rule due to difficulties lobstermen were having obtaining the necessary gear. Last month, along with the entire Maine Delegation, Senator Collins sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service to demand that Maine’s lobster fishery be treated fairly.
