By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    Maine lobstermen may soon have to make drastic changes to their gear if they want to continue working in the state’s coastal waters. Since 1996, the National Marine Fisheries Service has been working toward reducing the threat of large whale entanglements and injuries caused by fishing gear. Later this year, the NMFS is expected to come out with a regulation to restrict the use of gear in certain areas and the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF) is preparing to help local lobstermen make the transition.
    Laura Ludwig of GOMLF said NMFS is being sued by the conservation community to come out with a regulation right away to provide some protection for endangered whale species, including humpback, fin, and right whales. The majority of Maine commercial lobstermen use floating groundlines to connect groups of traps on the bottom of the ocean.
    The GOMLF’s Bottom Line Project is a voluntary program in which lobstermen can exchange floating ropes for sink ropes before the regulation is implemented. Ludwig said GOMLF obtained funds from Congress and contracted with a Massachusetts company to collect and recycle up to 500,000 pounds of float rope in the project’s first phase. Lobstermen will receive vouchers worth $1.40 per pound of float rope.
    “In general [sink rope] does cost quite a bit more than float rope, but it really does depend on the brand and size,” Ludwig said. She said float rope costs between 95 cents and $1.50 per pound, while sink rope costs between $1.80 and $2 per pound. Ludwig said the sink ropes would have to be high end to stand up to the rigors of the industry.
    The first phase of the Bottom Line Project is aimed at lobstermen who work in Lobster Management Zone G, encompassing southern Maine and seacoast New Hampshire, or in federal waters. These areas have experienced Dynamic Area Management (DAM) closures caused by the presence of three or more right whales. In the case of a DAM closure, lobstermen must switch to sink lines.
    Ludwig said lobstermen in Zone G were the only responders in a state-wide survey GOMLF distributed last fall. In a survey sent out to 6,200 people, GOMLF received 1,100 responses on the potential impact of a float line ban.
    “The amount it would cost would either put them out of business or make it very difficult to continue,” said Ludwig of the lobstermens’ commentary. She said lobstermen also expressed concern about losing gear as sink ropes could get hung up on rocks and gear could come loose. “There is a safety concern where the rope could hang down in such a forcible manner that to try to retrieve it could put the crew at risk because it could snap.”
    Pat White, a Maine lobstermen and president of GOMLF’s board of directors, said he currently uses sink lines or low profile lines instead of float lines.
    “Some of the lines are chafing more than others, but there are others that have stood up very well,”White said of working with sink lines off the coast of York. He said he has also shortened the distance between the traps.
    Perhaps the most common reaction to the potential ban on float rope is that there are no whales in the area to warrant the regulation. Ludwig said within a 35 year period there has been approximately eight right whale sightings within the three mile limit of state waters, where 80 percent of lobstering takes place.
    Erin Summers a Large Whale Scientist for the Maine Department of Marine Resources said there are several critical habitats in New England for right whales in New England, including Bay of Fundy, Cape Cod, and the Great South Channel, but there are no critical areas in Maine waters. She said the critical habitats have seasonal gear restrictions.
    When right whales are spotted in Maine waters, they are usually past the 12 mile line and en route to one of the critical habitats, she said. Summers said NMFS usually documents right whales in Maine waters in the winter months and their presence sparks DAM closures. The marine patrol monitors the DAM zones and checks to make sure lobstermen are in compliance. She said Maine has always had a very high compliance rate.
    “We’re trying to push for certain things to be in the final rule so the lobster industry has some things to work with,” Summer said. Even if there is a sink line mandate, she said the hope is that the rule will leave room for “emerging technologies,” such as more low profile lines. Research is also being conducted on large whale foraging practices to determine whether the conditions in Maine are favorable for the mammals. She said fishermen and marine officers statewide have also been trained in disentangling whales. There were several successful disentanglements of Minky whales last summer, she said.
    Mark Baumgartner, an Associate Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, said scientists were surprised to learn that right whales frequently dive down to the bottom of the ocean to feed whether they are in the Bay of Fundy, the western Gulf of Maine, or off the coast of Portsmouth. He said the animals need to eat large quantities of food so they spend most of their time foraging.
    “The big question for Maine is how often do right whales actually go to Maine waters?” he said. “I don’t think anyone can tell you how often they go there.” He said there are efforts under way to tag right whales in Maine waters. The habitat in the Maine coastal area is rocky compared to the sandy bottom of Cape Cod and the mud bottom of the Great South Channel, Baumgartner said. “There are more obstacles in the water column that make floating lines more practical than sinking line,” he said.
    On the other hand, Baumgartner said floating ropes are “big traps” for whales. He said fishermen prefer the floating ropes because they want to keep the ropes off the ground so they are not worn down, but the risk to whales decreases when the ropes are on the bottom of the ocean. Many whales have scars from fishing gear and sometimes the ropes can actually become embedded in their skin and around the mouth, making it difficult for the whales to feed.
    “It’s really the research community that sees these animals the most,” he said. “Fishermen don’t often see right whales [and] the vast majority of fishermen will never see a whale.” The right whale, however, is so endangered with only about 350 animals in the entire population, that any mortalities are significant.
    GOMLF will conduct Phase One of the Bottom Line Project throughout the week of May 21 at the R.C. Moore Transportation Center located off of Exit 42 in Scarborough. Lobstermen from areas outside of Zone G must first register with GOMLF.