Good News For Whales!
Court order reinstates safeguards for endangered right whales
Protections against entanglement in fishing gear found essential to avoid "overwhelming" risk
WASHINGTON " A federal judge has ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to reinstate rules aimed at protecting critically endangered right whales, humpbacks and fin whales from deadly entanglements in fishing gear.
The preliminary injunction ruling, issued late Friday, came in a case brought by Defenders of Wildlife and The Humane Society of the United States regarding the agency’s decision to roll back existing protections for these whales while delaying implementation of new, more protective fishing gear requirements.
“We’re delighted that the court has put interim protections back in place while the fishing industry works to convert to a long-term solution for imperiled whales,” said Sierra Weaver, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “These species, particularly the right whale, cannot afford any reduction in protections.”
In 2007, The HSUS filed suit to force NMFS to publish long overdue modifications to fishing gear regulations to protect endangered whales. The government agreed to issue regulations, but delayed implementation of the most important measure until October 2008: a requirement that fishermen all along the East Coast stop using dangerous floating groundlines between lobster and crab pots and begin using safer lines that sinks to the ocean floor and thus pose a lower risk of entanglement to whales.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, the agency planned to phase out existing requirements as they were replaced by the more protective requirement for sinking groundline throughout the fishery. Then in early September, the agency stopped mid-stream and decided to wait another six months " until April 2009 " to implement the sinking groundline requirement.
Despite the further delay in implementing the sinking groundline requirement throughout the fishery, NMFS proceeded to phase out older measures that require the gear on a more limited basis in times and areas whales were present, leaving endangered whales essentially unprotected. The preliminary injunction issued Friday by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reinstates the older protections in the most at-risk areas until the broad-based requirements go into effect.
“It’s long past time for NMFS to finally implement the permanent protections for whales they have promised for years,” said Sharon Young, marine issues field director for The HSUS. “The North Atlantic right whale is critically imperiled, and simply could not afford the agency’s ill-conceived proposal to roll back the minimal protective measures now in place.”
Facts:
Since 2002, at least a dozen whales have become seriously injured or died from entanglement in fishing gear. The North Atlantic right whale is a critically endangered marine animal once hunted to near extinction by whalers. Now there are fewer than 350 of these whales left. Adult female right whales reproduce slowly " they give birth to one calf every four years and do not reach reproductive maturity until age eight. More females than males die in fishing gear entanglements. Although right whales migrate up and down the East Coast, the delay in protective measures will primarily put whales feeding in New England at risk. Between 2006 and 2008, NMFS issued emergency protective measures in New England 30 times in the winter months.
Learn more on what Defenders is doing to help right whales.
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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than one million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit
www.defenders.org.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization"backed by nearly 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty"on the web at
www.humanesociety.org.
