A judge says the federal government hasn’t 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.
FILE - This Dec. 2, 2021, photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources shows an endangered North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing rope being sighted with a newborn calf in waters near Cumberland Island, Ga. The federal government hasn't 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, a judge has ruled, Friday, July 8, 2022.
Boasberg's ruling was a victory for conservation groups that have long sought to save the whale and a new challenge for lobster fishermen who have fought back against tightening restrictions on where and how they can fish. Boasberg 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 came after a group of environmental organizations sued the federal government with a complaint that it wasn't doing enough to save whales from lobster gear. Boasberg's ruling validates that claim, said Kristen Monsell, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued.
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 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.
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