The Endangered Lobstermen
December 2022 update:
June 2023 update
As reported by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
“In its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with the plaintiffs, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, and plaintiff-intervenors the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Lobstering Union, and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, ruling that NMFS distorted the science driving the regulation, relying improperly on assumptions and worst-case scenarios when determining the risk posed by industry to right whales. The court’s decision allows the current regulation to remain in effect while NMFS develops a new rule and does not impact recent Congressional action to delay further rule making until 2028.
“Maine’s lobstermen and women have long demonstrated their commitment to maintaining and protecting a sustainable fishery in the Gulf of Maine,” said the Maine Delegation and Governor Mills. “Today’s decision vindicates what the Maine lobster fishery, and the countless communities that rely on it, knew all along—that their practices support the conservation of the gulf ecosystem for generations to come. We are pleased the court has acknowledged that the data set NOAA has been using to unfairly target Maine’s fishery is flawed.”
The fight isn’t over, but it is a huge win for the Maine lobster industry.
January 2024 update:
The lobstering communities and the rest of the working waterfront in Maine experienced severe coastal flooding and devastation as extreme weather in Dec. 2023 and on Jan. 10 & 13, 2024 created unprecedented high tides and extreme flooding.