Lawmakers seek to lift fishing gear removal ban

BOSTON — A new bipartisan proposal calls for lifting a statewide ban on removing abandoned fishing lines to help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The legislation, filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, would authorize the state Division of Marine Fisheries – with the approval of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission and the Department of Fish and Game – to set regulations allowing for the removal of fishing gear from state waters.

Under current law, commercial fishing gear is considered private property and cannot be removed when it becomes dislodged and sinks to the ocean floor or washes up on shore. Backers of the plan say abandoned fishing gear poses a threat to the marine environment and ecosystems.

“It ‘ghost fishes,’ increasing mortality without any harvest benefit, it presents a major risk for entanglement for right whales and other species, it clutters and pollutes the ocean floor, and it presents ongoing problems for coastal communities that have to deal with this form of pollution when it washes ashore and must be collected and disposed of before it does further damage,” Tarr said in a statement.

The rare bipartisan measure is co-sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers spanning the North Shore, South Shore, Cape Cod and the islands, including state Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, and House Minority Leader Brad Jones, R-North Reading.

It’s also backed by the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, which lauded the fact that the bill would allow abandoned gear to be collected during community beach cleanups.

“The commercial lobster industry also helps with many of these cleanup efforts to maintain clean beaches for everyone to enjoy,” said Beth Casoni, the association’s executive director. “We look forward to seeing this bill through to the end.”

The bill also includes protections for fishermen, including a provision that clarifies it is unlawful to “take, use, destroy, injure or molest” traps, lines and other gear “without the consent of the owner.”

Lawmakers say the proposal seeks to strike a balance between the protection of right whales while recognizing the impact of government-ordered fishing ground closures and other restrictions on the state’s commercial lobster fishery.

Driven to the brink of extinction in the 20th century by whalers, North Atlantic right whales are more recently at risk from ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

Scientists say the population of North Atlantic right whales has dwindled to about 360. The species has also been hindered by poor reproduction and several years of high mortality, research has shown.

Environmental activists want to ban commercial fishing nets and gear in state waters to prevent entanglements of whales and turtles. They’ve also called for federal regulators to expand no-fishing zones and mandate the use of so-called “ropeless” fishing gear to reduce the risk of entanglements.

Federal regulators are considering new regulations requiring modifications in fishing gear to help reduce whale fatalities, but those rules have been put on hold for two years following recent court challenges.

Massachusetts lobstermen argue that they’re doing more than enough to protect the whales by following conservation measures, including a months-long fishing closure during the winter and early spring and the use of new technology.

They also argue that line entanglements are rare and say additional regulations would mean more financial pressures for an industry that is already struggling amid stringent regulations and closures of fishing areas.

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the death of a right whale off Martha’s Vineyard from a fishing line entanglement.

The federal agency said the fishing gear, which had become deeply embedded in the whale’s tail, was traced back to Maine’s commercial lobster industry.

Meanwhile, authorities discovered another dead right whale carcass floating off the coast of Georgia this week.

The deaths have rekindled demands from environmental groups to impose new restrictions on fishing gear and commercial vessels to protect the critically endangered species.

“The death of two juvenile North Atlantic whales within three weeks of each other is heartbreaking and preventable,” Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a statement Thursday. “The right whale graveyard off our eastern seaboard continues to grow and inaction from the administration is digging the graves.”

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.