The headlines, as headlines are designed to be, were shocking – 1,000 whales die daily trapped in fishing nets. Whether they were accurate was another matter. Scientists in the United States and Scotland reviewed statistics for whale deaths, mainly for the United States, and then extrapolated this information to world’s oceans to come up with the 1,000 deaths a day. By their own admission, the results were “very crude.” Still, they tell an important story.

While the International Whaling Commission, which was originally formed to regulate whale hunting, this week took the historic step of voting to create a conservation committee to protect marine mammals, it is becoming increasingly clear that the intentional killing of whales is less of a problem than the unintentional deaths caused by whales caught in fishing gear. While the unexpected change in stance of the IWC means it can now do more to prevent accidental whale killings worldwide, it is clear more must be done closer to home. Last summer eight endangered North American right whales were known to be entangled in fishing gear off the East Coast. Five died.

Fishermen in the United States, and especially in Maine, have done much more than their counterparts in other countries to protect whales and other non-targeted species. One reason for this is because federal regulators here are more stringent than in other parts of the world. Another reason is because New England fishermen understand that if they don’t solve a problem by themselves someone else will come along with a solution they like much less.

This is especially true with whales, dolphins and porpoises, technically known as cetaceans. There are believed to be only 350 northern right whales in the Atlantic. They are a federally endangered species and, on paper, killing, or taking in legal jargon, just one right whale a year violates federal law. Given the whales’ perilous status, the National Marine Fisheries Service for years has been tinkering with plans to prevent the whales, which swim through Maine waters on their way to and from summer feedings grounds in Canada, from being killed from entanglements with fishing gear. Ship strikes are another common cause of death but less has been done to combat this problem. Each go round, NMFS proposes draconian regulations, such as allowing no fishing line in the water, and fishermen scramble to come up with a reasonable alternative.

NMFS is expected to present a new “take reduction” plan this summer. This time, Maine is ahead of the game. The Department of Marine Resources has received two grants to survey all the lobster gear in the water from Kittery to Eastport. The department will take the project one step farther by including lobstermen in the project. They will be taken along in the boat to see, via a sonar screen, what their gear actually looks like on the ocean floor. If loops of ropes are visible between traps, for example, lobstermen will see firsthand the danger their gear could pose to whales and other mammals. It is hoped that they will then fix such problems and encourage the 7,000 other lobstermen to do the same.

Such efforts should go a long way toward ensuring that Maine is taken seriously when it says there are good alternatives that will save whales and fishermen.