Maybe it was a good thing that nothing got done during the latest two-day Whale Take Reduction Team meeting.  It seems that whenever there are proposals for NOAA Fisheries to chew on from this group that it is more stuff to make life harder on fishermen.  As has been explained again and again, all that can be done by the fishing industry to save whales is being done.

 It was also amusing that NOAA Fisheries’ Protected Resources Division people spent an inordinate amount of time during this grueling meeting explaining how things must be done to get any idea out of the door at the Fishery’s agency headquarters.  Actually, although the environmental members of the Team were quite frustrated, I felt somehow relieved that the federal process was so cumbersome and time consuming.  I think my feelings were not only that somehow the lobster fishermen’s side of the issues would get a little more attention but also that somehow the environmental members would be able to experience some of the same frustration lobster fishermen feel when new rules on fishing complicate their lives.  Shame on me for feeling somewhat revengeful during this whole ordeal!!!

 Under federal law and as the NOAA Fisheries folks explained, the whole process of moving any whale plan ideas forward must be done in accordance with the laws of the land.  Besides the infamous Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, that those who would ban fishing rely on, there are other rules such as the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and Executive Order 12866, which mandate that concerns of small businesses must be considered and that the government should not put an industry out of business.  Wow, maybe there are some people up there on our side!  NOAA Fisheries, and that’s NMFS by the way, must look at every whale plan from those perspectives and not just under the “whale world” Acts alone.  This I felt, as it was explained, was at least a little encouraging.

 On the other hand, during this meeting, NOAA – NMFS – whatever also informed everyone that they were preparing an Environmental Impact Statement, an EIS, and a Final Rule all at the same time.  Usually, the Plan follows an EIS.  The Service also noted that they planned to have these documents ready for the public by May or June.  The strange part here was that they couldn’t tell anyone, even this federally sponsored whale team, what was in this mysterious proposal; process again!  It seems that the Agency is still in a Section 7 consultation with itself and couldn’t talk about it!?  How about a hint?  No, the team and the world would just have to wait.  Was this good or bad?  Neither the fishing industry nor the environmental community, nor the state agencies nor the research members could pry this out of the federal folks.

 As the assorted reports and updates listed on the agenda continued, the industry representatives kept waiting for the expected last minute “bomb” that has always been dropped by the environmental “industry”.  This has usually been some “nightmarish” suggestion that they want implemented or at least considered; their feeling being, that it would stop any further interactions with whales.  Over the past five years of these sessions, the industry has faced such proposals as closing down fisheries, no rope in the water, a “Beam me up Scotty” trap type idea and the other twilight zone concepts dreamed up in someone’s office.  As this meeting dragged on, all the industry members were waiting to see which voice would fire the shot for this meeting.  The closest attempt came when a suggestion was made that maybe only fully sinking groundlines and not neutral buoyant line should be allowed in place of poly float line.  We’ve only been on this subject for the past three years and everyone had been receptive to the new rope idea and now this!  Yes, it came as expected in the eleventh hour of the last day.  Industry representatives wasted no time in sweeping this off the table and then as the final reports on the day’s agenda were presented, there was an effort by the industry “to run the clock out” with questions until adjournment time had arrived.

 It is a shame that the whole whale saving initiative must be done this way but if this is what it takes to keep fishermen and whales on and in the ocean, so be it!

 From the twilight zone of whale world ~~

 Bill Adler
Executive Director