RETHINKING WHALE RULES

Federal regulators have not adequately addressed problems with gear changes they are proposing to require of lobstermen later this year, according to the Government Accountability Office. If these problems are not soon resolved, the National Marine Fisheries Service has no choice but to exempt portions of Maine from the new rules.

NMFS proposed in 2005 to allow only rope that sinks to the ocean floor between lobster traps to minimize the risk of endangered right whales becoming entangled in the line. The agency withdrew the rule early this year after concerns were raised by the Office of Management and Budget and others that NMFS had not adequately assessed concerns that the sinking line would not be practical in some parts of Maine and had underestimated the costs of switching to the new rope.

Last week, the GAO echoed those same concerns. The office reviewed the proposed rule change at the request of Sen. Olympia Snowe, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard.

It found that NMFS had yet to address concerns raised by Maine lobstermen that the sinking line would likely snag on the rocky ocean bottom off portions of the state’s coast. Snagging could lead to more broken line, increasing the amount of rope that right whales could get tangled in. It would also increase costs for fishermen and could put them at risk of being hurt by damaged gear.

Worse, the service did not have a way to assess whether the sinking rope made a difference, the GAO found. The office sounded baffled that NMFS could require markings on vertical lines to trace this rope’s role in whale entanglements, but did not have a similar requirement for ground line.

Without a way to determine if sinking line benefits whales while being too simplistic in assessing the economic impact of the proposed change on lobstermen and fishing communities, this change is premature, especially in parts of Maine.

Sen. Snowe has secured funding for NMFS for gear research and to reimburse lobstermen for switching to the sinking rope. Some of that money should be used to speed up research on gear modifications. There are several research projects under way looking for lines, nets and other fishing gear that would present less of an entanglement danger to whales. Focusing on the concerns raised by Maine lobstermen could find ways to ease these problems.

In the meantime, places in Maine where sinking rope is documented to be problematic and where whale sightings are rare should be exempted from the rule.