'Going to be tough': Fishermen sound off on expanded speed limits to protect right whales
A proposal of expanded speed limit areas along the East Coast to protect right whales and their calves had Ocean City fishermen crying foul in a Thursday meeting with Rep. Andy Harris, R-1st-Md.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is proposing a federal rule that would expand the current 10 knot speed restrictions on boats 65 feet and longer to include all boats 35 feet and longer.
The rule would also expand the speed restriction zone from current right whale calving areas to the entire East Coast, from Massachusetts to Florida.
"Instead of decision makers getting educated on (our job), we're just told to do something with no steps in place to explain why," said Jacob Wainglass, a charter fisherman in Ocean City. "Where we fish is no short trip. It's anywhere from 50 to 90 miles where we're going. So when you add in those (speed limits), that is three quarters of a day just in transit and it's not practical for us. Our days as fishermen are already long enough."
According to the federal administration, North Atlantic Right Whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1970. The latest preliminary estimate suggests there are fewer than 350 remaining, with fewer than 100 breeding females. The number of new calves born in recent years has been below average.
"They have experienced an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event since 2017. Thirty-four North Atlantic Right Whales have been documented dead, 21 seriously injured and 36 injured or ill. This represents more than 20% of the population, which is a significant impact on an endangered species where deaths are outpacing births," the administration reports on their official site.
How could fisherman be impacted?
Workdays for Wainglass could begin as early as 2:45 a.m. with charter trips and required boat maintenance that follows making it so that his day ends at 8 p.m. Adding what he estimates as three times the travel time to a standard day would contribute to fatigue and potentially dangerous accidents, he said.
"Time and time again, we get regulated without consulting the people. If this all goes through, it's going to be tough," said Wainglass.
Among the main concerns raised at the meeting held at Sunset Grille in Ocean City was that data is still unclear as to how problematic whale strikes actually were along the Eastern Shore. Fishermen also argued such a slow speed limit would add unreasonable travel time to both commercial and recreational fishing trips — in effect, crippling the industries.
Fishermen also added that those bringing their larger boats from Florida to the docks in Ocean City would face exorbitant travel times and might opt to stay in their home port, costing the city millions in economic impact.
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Madelyne Rowan, a tournament director for the White Marlin Open, also warned Harris of the logistical problems if right whales are even in the area, but not near the tournament waters. With 444 boats participating in the tournament in 2021 and millions of dollars in economic impact to Ocean City, Rowan sees these conservation efforts as a step too far by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"It's going to hurt recreational fishing on the whole. If a right whale is to ping in the area during the tournament, we have 450 boats we have to try to manage," said Rowan. "That could be devastating for our event. It's important that all stake holders have a say in policies like this. It feels like something trying to be rushed through and it won't be received well."
For Rowan, the key is compromise on the speed limit to increase it from 10 knots closer to the usual 25 knots, and minimizing the area being considered for the speed limit zone. But that requires representatives from the federal agency to actually meet with fishermen.
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How will Harris help?
That has been easier said than done — even when high-ranking federal regulators have been invited.
That is where Harris comes in. He was unaware of the regulations until his constituents contacted his office to have a discussion on why there was "an apparent lack of transparency on such a scale." He doubted if the findings by the federal agency warranted such drastic conservation measures.
"First of all, it's expected that administrators need to meet with the public. We're getting the legislative branch involved and clearly the executive branch is making this decision," said Harris. "They should be making the case to me and the people involved that this is scientifically proven. What they're asking to do, in case of charter boat captains, is to give up their livelihood."
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During the meeting, a number of fishermen noted they are among the most conservational members of the public as they want to comply with the reasonable and transparent laws. Many argued they had never seen a Right Whale in the decades they had worked as watermen.
"We're going to look at the economic impact statements. If you took all the boats out of the water, the Right Whales are safer. But the only question is how many boats you are going to take out and what limitations are you going to put on those boats," said Harris.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Harris hears fishermen take aim at whale conservation speed limits
