“March” – In like a lion with another confounding and unavoidable challenge for lobstermen regarding lawyers, NMFS, whales and vertical trap lines. On the up side, landings are still historically high, boat prices are generally better and market development prospects good. Apart from everything else the weather gods eventually always deliver a lamb. Peter Ralston photo www.ralstongallery.com
Lobster Industry Grapples With Right Whale Deaths
by Laurie Schreiber
ROCKPORT—The lobster industry is engaging with researchers to find ways to further prevent gear entanglements with right whales.
The industry’s discussions come in the face of 17 documented North Atlantic right whale deaths in 2017. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 2017 was devastating for the species, with the loss of 17 whales representing about 4 percent of their population—“an alarming number for such a critically endangered species with a population currently estimated at about 450 animals,” NMFS said in a press release.
Of the dead whales, 12 were found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Canada, between June and September. Necropsies on seven of those whales determined that five died from blunt force trauma, often associated with vessel strikes, and two died due to entanglements from fishing gear.
