A judge has ruled that the US federal government has not done enough to protect a rare species of whale from lethal entanglement in lobster fishing gear, and new rules are needed to protect the species from extinction.
The American government has violated both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act by failing to protect the North Atlantic right whale, US district judge James Boasberg ruled on Friday.
The whales number less than 340 in the world and have been declining rapidly in population in recent years.
Judge Boasberg’s ruling was a victory for conservation groups that have long sought to save the whale and brought about a new challenge for lobster fishermen who have fought back against tightening restrictions on where and how they can fish.
JUST IN: Following years of work by the Center, @Defenders & @CLF, a federal court ruled that @NOAAFisheries failed to protect North Atlantic right whales from deadly entanglements in U.S. lobster fishing gear. https://t.co/yEloN2ZCLf pic.twitter.com/v8Enwb2QTY
Advertisement— Center for Biological Diversity (@CenterForBioDiv) July 8, 2022
He ruled that the court’s findings “do not dictate that it must immediately shutter the American lobster fishery”, but instead said the parties must propose potential remedies to the threat faced by whales.
The ruling “may seem a severe result for the lobster industry” and the government, but no-one “operates free from the strict requirements imposed by the MMPA and ESA,” Judge Boasberg wrote.
Environmental groups celebrated the ruling, while some members of the fishing industry took a more measured approach.
The ruling came after a group of environmental organisations sued the US federal government with a complaint that it was not doing enough to save whales from lobster gear.
Judge Boasberg’s ruling validates that claim, said Kristen Monsell, an attorney for the Centre for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued.
This is a huge victory in the fight to save these profoundly endangered whales from extinction. Help continue to power our work protecting imperiled species like right whales: https://t.co/kAXr5U1Pep
— Center for Biological Diversity (@CenterForBioDiv) July 8, 2022
“Lobster gear is a deadly threat to right whales, and the courts are telling the federal government to quit stalling and start taking real action. The Biden administration has to work much harder to help the industry prevent these agonising, deadly entanglements,” Ms Monsell said.
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the largest fishing trade group on the East Coast, said in a statement that it was still reviewing the ruling.
The association also pointed to a section of Judge Boasberg’s ruling that said the National Marine Fisheries Service “may find that other measures exist to reduce lethal take, or that projected take is in fact lower than originally estimated”.
That renders the ruling “a mixed bag”, the association said.
“We are heartened that the court recognises the great importance of Maine’s lobstering heritage and appreciates the potential and unnecessary harm that could be imposed on the men and women who work so hard to make our industry thrive,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
The right whales give birth off Florida and Georgia and come north to the waters off New England and Canada to feed.
They’re also imperilled by lethal collisions with ships, and US federal authorities are expected to soon release new guidelines to help protect them from that threat.
The whales were once numerous, but they were decimated during the commercial whaling era.
Some scientists have said warming ocean temperatures are causing them to stray from protected areas in search of food, and that has left them more vulnerable to collisions and entanglement.
