Subject: Right whales/lobster fishers (fwd)
Michael Williamson (pita@whale.simmons.edu)
Mon, 14 Apr 1997 12:50:56 -0400 (EDT)
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J. Michael Williamson
Principal Investigator-WhaleNet <http://whale.wheelock.edu>
Associate Professor-Science
Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215
voice: 617.734.5200, ext. 256
fax: 617.734.8666, or 617.566.7369
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 13:11:50 -0400
From: Dagmar Fertl <Dagmar_Fertl@mms.gov>
Reply-To: Marine Mammals Research and Conservation Discussion
<MARMAM@UVVM.UVIC.CA>
To: MARMAM@UVVM.UVIC.CA
Subject: newsclip - right whales/lobster fishers
RIGHT WHALES: LAWMAKERS FIGHT NEW REGS ON LOBSTER FISHERS.
Members of the Maine delegation on 4/8 "expressed skepticism" about
the National Marine Fisheries Service's proposal to impose gear
restrictions on the state's lobster fishers in an effort to protect
endangered Northern right whales. State Marine Resources Commissioner
Robin Alden estimated the new gear requirement would cost the lobster
industry between $40 million and $70 million.
Senate Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
claimed the regulations would cause substantial economic harm in
return for "questionable" conservation benefits. Snowe: "We should
work hard to conserve [right whales]. But devastating the fishing
industry is not the answer. ... We can have right whales and we can
have fishermen."
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), in a letter to Commerce Sec'y William
Daley, "urged" the department to drop the "onerous proposed rules and
return to the negotiating table to work in a meaningful way with state
and industry leaders." Alden: "We do need to be responsible about
right whale protection, but not impose costs where there is no
benefit."
Snowe said the subcommittee plans to hold a hearing on the issue in
Maine (AP/BANGOR [ME] DAILY NEWS, 4/10).