Senator Susan Collins moves to block tougher rules protecting endangered whales
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), shown here at the US Capitol on December 8, drafted a provision that would reduce efforts to strengthen protections for the North Atlantic right whale.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is pushing for a provision to be included in the government’s massive funding bill that could further endanger the already precarious North Atlantic right whale.
In July, a federal judge ruled that a 2021 regulation from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which set new requirements for lobster traps in an effort to reduce the risk of those traps becoming entangled and injuring or killing whales, did not go far enough. Among other things, the rules limited the number of vertical fishing lines that could be deployed in Maine waters and established new seasonal zone restrictions, but the ruling said the regulations failed to meet legal requirements under the Endangered Species Act. of Extinction and the Law for the Protection of Marine Mammals.
Since then, the judge has given federal regulators until 2024 to arrive at what are expected to be even stricter rules to safeguard the endangered whale.
The Collins provision, which has yet to be filed, seeks to block those regulations and consolidate the 2021 rule for a minimum of 10 years. HuffPost obtained a copy of the draft late Friday.
The North Atlantic right whale population has been steadily declining since 2010, with fewer than 350 estimated to be still alive. The species faces myriad threats, including entanglement in fishing gear, boat strikes, and climate change.
This photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources shows an endangered North Atlantic right whale entangled in a fishing line while swimming with a newborn calf on December 2, 2021 off Cumberland Island, Georgia.
Environmental groups, including the three that have waged a multi-year legal battle with the federal government to secure stronger protections for right whales, were quick to condemn Collins’ effort.
In a letter Friday to Democratic leadership, the Center for Biological Diversity, Advocates for Wildlife and other organizations argued the provision “would set a damaging precedent for the political override of science-based decision-making under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammals Act; undermine active federal litigation and overturn court orders; and further threaten the survival of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.”
“We urge you to do everything possible to keep this extraordinarily damaging provision, which would set an equally damaging precedent, off the bus,” reads the letter, which was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick J Leahy (D-Vt.) and House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
Collins’ office called the proposed provision “a simple compromise” and criticized critics in the conservation community.
“It would allow for the continued sustainable management of the fishery while advancing innovative gear technology, which these groups have called for,” Collins spokesman Christopher Knight said in an email.
Knight noted that there is no documented case of a right whale dying from becoming entangled in Maine lobstering gear. However, in their letter on Friday, the environmentalists noted that “most entanglements are never detected or identified in a fishery due to difficulties in detecting entangled whales and confirming the source of the entanglement.”
“Maine lobstermen have a 150-year history of sustainability, and the Maine lobstering community has consistently demonstrated its commitment to protecting right whales,” Knight said. “If these groups are unwilling to accept something so simple, it shows utter disdain for the men and women who make their living from one of the world’s best-managed and sustainable fisheries.”
A worker weighs a lobster for grading at The Lobster Co. in Arundel, Maine on January 24, 2022.
Whether lobster fishing is sustainable has become a matter of heated debate. In September, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which ranks the sustainability of seafood, additional American and Canadian lobster are included on their “red list” of species to avoid due to the risk catching crustaceans poses to right whales. And last month, the London-based Marine Stewardship Council discontinued its sustainability certificate for the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery, citing the July federal court ruling. In response to the reviews, several retailers, including Whole Foods, have removed the crustaceans from their shelves and menus.
“Fishing gear entanglement is the leading cause of serious injury and death for North Atlantic right whales,” Seafood Watch wrote in its decision, adding that “current management measures do not go far enough to mitigate risks entanglement and promote the recovery of the species. ”
It remains to be seen if Collins’ 11-hour provision ends up in the final master package to fund the federal government in 2023, which is expected to total more than $1.5 trillion. Jay Tilton, spokesperson for Leahy, He said it is the policy of the Appropriations Committee not to comment on the general negotiations until the text of the bill is public.
Connor Fagan, federal policy manager for ocean advocacy group Oceana, told HuffPost that if Congress passes Collins’ provision, it “will undermine our own government’s legacy of safeguarding vulnerable species and endorse putting politics ahead of The science”.
“Stopping the development of necessary additional safeguards by our government agency established to protect our oceans and wildlife is the wrong move and negates established science,” he said by email. “Progress does not happen at a standstill. By freezing federal regulations in place for the next decade, this dangerous proposal is short-sighted and will have catastrophic impacts on the science-based management of the iconic, critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.”