Dive Deeper

Leading up to—and ultimately resulting in—Congressional intervention in the form of a six-year pause, the TRT was discussing regulatory options to meet a 90% risk reduction. Those included:

• Expansion of weak-link and weak-rope requirements
• Use of weak tag lines on one end of the trawl or removing one buoy line
• Buoy line caps in a particular area
• Trap reductions
• Longer minimum trawl requirements 
• Enhanced gear marking requirements
• Additional, and expanded, seasonal buoy line closures 
• Differential rules by zone (inshore vs. offshore, by depth or season)

The law requires NMFS to meet the required risk-reduction threshold. The previous risk reduction target for new whale rules was 90%, with a phase-in of additional measures to meet the 98% risk reduction required under the Biological Opinion. This devastating level of risk reduction was required under the law. 

Since then, a lot has changed. The right whale population is increasing as births outpace deaths. Mortalities and serious injuries from commercial fishing have declined. It is expected that the next risk reduction target will be less severe. That’s why it’s important to work on finding ways to reduce risk while fishing continues.

Ropeless fishing can mean a lot of different things. Most simply, it refers to fixed fishing gear that operates without persistent buoy lines. It includes fixed gear rigged with an on-demand device or timed-retrieval device that triggers a retrieval mechanism, as well as fixed gear that can only be retrieved by grappling.

DMR and partners are actively testing various types of ropeless gear to keep options on the table for fishermen who may want to access areas closed to buoy lines – now or in the future. So far, field results suggest there are still major issues to work out before ropeless gear can be used. Their findings, the experience of those testing it, and your opinion matters, and all need to be on the record.

Concerns that haven’t been resolved include:

• High equipment cost (especially for smaller boats)
• Battery performance in cold and deep water
• Gear loss and malfunction risk
• Difficulty locating gear without surface markers
• Potential conflicts between fishermen over unmarked gear locations
• Enforcement questions
• Safety concerns raised by fishermen

NMFS and the TRT need to know what’s actually workable on the water. No amount of modeling replaces what fishermen like you know about gear behavior, weather windows, economics, and the specific realities of where you fish. Your input can shape management options going forward. When fishermen give specific, believable, practical feedback, it helps NMFS and the TRT consider what might work. It can influence what gets proposed and what is ultimately adopted.

But here’s what participating won’t guarantee: a particular outcome. Final decisions also consider multiple legal requirements, differing regional needs, and scientific data. Being heard is not the same as winning, but not speaking up means the reality of your experience won’t be considered at all. And managers often lack the information they need to understand why certain approaches will not work for fishermen.

You have more power during the planning process than after a proposed rule is published. That planning phase—that window of opportunity—is right now.

Maine DMR established a right whale research program to collect Maine-specific data that will increase the knowledge used to make these decisions. They are incorporating new data on right whales and the lobster fishery into the risk models to reduce uncertainty in and paint a more accurate picture about how and where the Maine fishery operates in relation to right whales. DMR is testing alternative gear configurations and documenting results. They’re also one of Maine’s representatives on the Take Reduction Team.

DMR’s ability to support workable solutions depends on understanding what’s workable. That knowledge comes from fishermen like you.

Here are some concrete ways fishermen can participate:

• Go to your zone council meetings to get informed and share your operational knowledge and concerns with Maine DMR before TRT meetings occur.
• Go to or follow TRT meetings and provide comments during TRT public input periods.
• Get the facts and share new ideas! If there is a new option out there that hasn’t been considered yet, it’s going to come from a fisherman.
• Pay attention to announcements about scoping and proposed rulemaking from NMFS and submit formal comments when rules are open for public review.
• Talk to other fishermen. Accurate information that spreads peer-to-peer is trusted and can help you understand and challenge information coming from university researchers or government agencies.