A federal judge on Thursday granted the state intervenor status in one of several lawsuits over federal restrictions on the lobster industry — restrictions that aim to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The feds barred traditional lobster gear from nearly 1,000 square miles of ocean off Maine this fall and through January, to reduce the risk that whales will be entangled in trap-rope. More regulations take effect in the coming year, and lobstermen and their advocates fear a near-total shutdown of the industry within a decade.
This week the state was granted intervenor status in a suit filed by the Maine Lobstermen's Association seeking a new review of science and data used to calculate the risk posed by Maine's lobster fleet. That brings the state's scientists and data-gathering expertise to bear on questions such as how to assess risks from Maine lobstermen as compared to risks from shipping and Canada's fisheries.
"The allocation of deaths split equally between the U.S. and Canada is very problematic," said Patrick Keliher, the commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources.
He said there's no evidence that whales have been entangled in Maine lobster gear in the last 20 years, and no evidence of any mortalities. Conservationists and scientists, however, point out that it's extremely difficult to trace gear found on injured or dead whales, which is usually highly degraded by the marine environment, back to any give state or fishery.
The state is also party to a suit by conservationists that challenges the federal rules for being too weak. Keliher said that could result in the lobster fishery being de-licensed altogether. Conservation groups could not immediately be reached for comment.