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A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 22 OcTOber 2019
Tension thaws over whale plan between lobstermen, feds

By PATRICK WHITTLE public meetings about
Associated Press proposed protections next
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A month. NOAA must even-
group representing Maine's tually propose formal rules,
lobstermen says it's now and that's expected in the
willing to work with the fed- next few months, Goebel
eral government on a plan said.
to protect right whales af- The right whales dwindled
ter withdrawing its support in population during the
for the plan this summer. whaling era and have suf-
The Maine Lobstermen's As- fered high mortality and
sociation is one of the key poor reproduction in re-
stakeholders in an effort to cent years. Conservation-
better protect the North ists have sounded alarms
Atlantic right whales, which that the whales could face
number only about 400 extinction because of a
and are vulnerable to en- declining population of
tanglement in fishing gear. breeding females.
A federal plan that's being "Entanglements in the ver-
developed to help save tical fishing lines used in
the whales would remove lobster and crab trap/pot
miles of lobster trap rope fisheries cause right whale
from the waters off Maine. death rates to rise and birth
The lobstermen's associa- rates to fall," said Jane Dav-
tion issued a public state- In this March 28, 2018 file photo, a North Atlantic right whale feeds on the surface of Cape Cod enport, a senior attorney
ment on Oct. 11 saying it bay off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. with Defenders of Wildlife,
appreciates that the Na- Associated Press which has advocated for
tional Oceanic and At- telephone interview. rulemaking process. Maine regulators plan to hold tight restrictions.q
mospheric Administration's "We were always com-
National Marine Fisheries mitted to finding ways to
Service has offered a "con- make our fisheries safer for Climate change making
structive response" to its right whales," McCarron
concerns about whale pro- said. stronger El Ninos, study finds
tection. NOAA Fisheries is not com-
However, the statement menting on the lobstering ing elsewhere. The 1997-98
also says the lobstermen group's statement, agency event caused thousands of
still think the whale plan spokesman Jennifer Goe- deaths from severe storms,
focuses too much on new bel said. However, the reg- heat waves, floods and
restrictions for their indus- ulators have also recently drought, costing between
try. The organization said expressed desire to work $32 billion and $96 billion,
it believes NOAA Fisheries with the lobstermen, who according to a United Na-
should also consider the have said the whale pro- tions study .
impact other fisheries have tection plan placed too The shift for the origin of El
on the whales. much onus on their busi- Nino by hundreds of miles
"Going forward, MLA will ness, which is an industry from the east of the Inter-
continue to insist on a sci- vital to Maine's economy. national Dateline to the
ence-based process in- Chris Oliver, NOAA's assis- west of that point is impor-
formed by best available tant administrator for fish- tant because the water to
data to ensure rigorous eries, said this month that the west is naturally warm-
accountability for risk to federal managers are also er, said study lead author
endangered whales from "diligently working with our Bin Wang, an atmospheric
across the spectrum of Canadian counterparts to In this Jan. 5, 2016, file photo, Chris Lene sweeps water out of scientist at the University of
human interactions with address both ship strikes one of the businesses in the building he owns that was flooded Hawaii.
them," the group stated. and entanglements in by rainwater in Sacramento, Calif. Before 1978, 12 of the 14 El
The group hopes its let- Canadian waters." That is Associated Press Ninos formed in the east.
ter sends a message that another concern Maine's By SETH BORENSTEIN farther to the west in warm- After 1978, all 11 were more
finding a way to save the lobstermen have raised in AP Science Writer er waters, leading to stron- central or western, accord-
whales is still one of its priori- recent years. WASHINGTON (AP) — Cli- ger El Ninos in some cases. ing a study in Monday's Pro-
ties, said Patrice McCarron, The new whale protec- mate change is making A powerful El Nino can trig- ceedings of the National
its executive director, in a tions must first go through a stronger El Ninos, which ger drought in some plac- Academy of Sciences .
change weather world- es, like Australia and India. Researchers did not study
wide and heat up an al- And it can cause flooding La Ninas, the cooler flip side
ready warming planet, a in other areas like Califor- to El Nino.
new study finds. nia. The Pacific gets more Wang said there have
Scientists examined 33 El hurricanes during an El been three "super" El Ninos,
Ninos — natural warming Nino and the Atlantic gets starting in 1982, 1997 and
of equatorial Pacific that fewer. 2015 and all started in the
triggers weather extremes El Nino makes winters west.
across the globe — since milder and wetter in the During each of those El Ni-
1901. United States, which gen- nos, the world broke new
They found since the 1970s, erally benefits from strong average temperature
El Ninos have been forming El Ninos. They're devastat- records.q