Lobstermen from around Maine packed a hearing Wednesday night in Portland on proposed new rules to protect endangered right whales.
Maine lobstermen are already facing gear changes and the seasonal closure of nearly 1,000 square miles of fishing grounds. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that should reduce whale mortality by about 46% but the agency is looking for further risk reductions of another 44%.
Sonny Beal is a third generation lobsterman from Beals Island who said lobster gear is not the problem; ship strikes are. But he said the Maine lobster industry is paying the price.
"You're gonna cripple the Maine economy with your lies and computer guesses," he said. "We won't be buying trucks or homes. Our kids won't be going to Maine schools. We won't be shopping at local grocery stores. We won't be taking trips to Old Orchard Beach or Moosehead Lake. In fact, the banks will be crippled because they'll own everything including our boats."
NOAA says about 31 whales are lost each year from a right whale population estimated at 350.
Governor Janet Mills, former Gov. Paul LePage, former Congressman Bruce Poliquin and members of Maine's congressional delegation all showed up in support of Maine lobstermen who they say are being unfairly targeted.
Sen. Susan Collins says NOAA has continually refused to follow the science, and she had two suggestions: "First, focus on ship strikes, ship strikes. We know the number of right whales that were killed by ship strikes in the St. Lawrence Seaway. That's fact. That's documented."
Second, Collins said, is that NOAA should work with Canada to determine the extent of the harm caused by the snow crab fishery.
Colleen Coogan, of NOAA's marine mammal and sea turtle team, told the crowd in Portland that nearly 100 whales a year show signs of interaction with lobster ropes. She says that's too many for a population that numbers 350.
"So we're really looking for measures that, when we combine them, can get us another 44% risk reduction coast wide. So, that we get that cumulative 90% risk reduction and can determine that we are unlikely to seriously injure or kill more than one right whale a year."