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bubba1819 t1_iyncc4b wrote

Reply to comment by Bywater in Maine Dem (Jared Golden) Has Some Words for Biden After He Ordered 200 Lobsters for an Event at the WH by otakugrey

I understand your point of view. Someone could also point out, from a mindset similar to yours, is that Right Whales are also screwed either way. Right Whales feed entirely off of copepods which are being drastically impacted from climate change. The reason why Right Whale feeding grounds are changing so drastically is because copepods are migrating further and further north to survive. This is also why people are pointing out that the waters that need to be more heavily regulated are that in Canada and specifically the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is where the vast majority of whale deaths have occurred in the past 20 years. Perhaps both fishermen and right whales are set to go extinct no matter what.

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/special-reports/maines-changing-climate/climate-change-is-pushing-food-source-for-endangered-north-atlantic-right-whale-further-out-to-sea/97-4a2bc7aa-e492-480e-81b8-87751412e242

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Bywater t1_iynetmy wrote

I agree, long, long odds of the Right Whales making it. But I have never been one to just decide, "Welp, they are fucked..." just so people can keep eating lobster. Or better yet just because the guys who fish for lobster have to use a different rig to harvest it. I also said they needed to ensure that the Canadians were also in compliance, particularly the crab fisherman, but there is no way to make that pitch successfully to Canada without our own fishermen playing ball.

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bubba1819 t1_iynftui wrote

I also want to point out that I don’t entirely disagree with you. I think you and I have similar values just that our views take slightly different paths, so to speak. I’m not entirely against new regulations on the fishery. I think the minimum number of traps per vertical line in federal waters is warranted, I also agree with the colored rope to track where entanglements are occurring, and I like the new break points in the middle of the vertical lines. I think these are good things. What I disagree with is rope-less rigging. I would even entertain changing the number of traps an inshore fishermen could fish vs offshore, but that’s just me.

Edited to add: I agree that we should do something to help Right Whales. I just think that we can do this in a way that helps Right Whales while keeping the fishery stable for a few more years.

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