WHALE RULES REVISITED

Federal regulators have improved proposed rules aimed at preventing whales from becoming entangled in lobster gear by exempting more Maine waters from the regulations. However, they have yet to answer questions raised by government overseers about the risk of the required gear getting stuck on the rocky ocean bottom Down East. Until these concerns are eased, more of Maine should be exempt from the rules, at least for a time while more research is conducted.

The National Marine Fisheries Service 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 proposal 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 month, the Government Accountability Office echoed those same concerns. 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.

A few weeks later, NMFS released its final environmental impact statement, one of the last steps before releasing a final rule by Oct. 1, as required by a federal court. The statement assessed several ways to protect right whales. The preferred alternative is to require sinking line and other gear modifications along the East Coast. NMFS did agree with Maine regulators’ designation of inshore areas that should be exempted from the rule. The exempted area, which is close to shore, is not frequented by whales, according to NMFS.

This does not address the GAO’s concern about gear damage and the questionable benefits to whales. To rectify this, NMFS could commit to easing the requirements in areas that further research confirms are free of whales.

A proposal from the state Department of Marine Resources offers another option. It would delay compliance with the final rule in Maine from October 2008 to June 2010. The extra time would be used for more research on gear that would withstand Maine’s conditions while also protecting right whales. More would be learned about whale habitat and feeding patterns as well since few right whales have been spotted in Maine water, where 85 percent of the state’s lobstermen fish, in recent decades. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has proposed a 10-cent per trap tag increase, which would raise $300,000 for such research. The association has also proposed limited gear restrictions and prohibiting lobster fishing in areas where whales congregate.

Especially if limited to areas where sinking rope would be most problematic, these are compromises worth consideration.