By David K. Shipler
A significant
struggle, invisible to most Americans, is occurring along the northern New England
coast to save both an endangered species of whale and an endangered way of
life. It is a clash of priorities, values, and even basic facts, that could
leave both North Atlantic right whales and Maine lobstermen as victims. You can
see the high stakes when tough men of the sea have fear in their eyes.
New federal
regulations, enacted and in the works, are being challenged by Maine officials
and lobstermen as unjustified. And the private sector has now escalated the
conflict with a call to boycott lobsters. Issued from the other side of the
country by the Monterey Bay (California) Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, it is based on
information that is far from conclusive about the danger posed to the whales by
ropes used in lobstering. The move seems wildly excessive, has undermined the
conservationists’ credibility, and has further polarized the players in an
effort that cries out for sensible solutions.
Also, by the way, boycotting lobsters
won’t save the whales.
The
problem looks clearcut on its face. The estimated number of North Atlantic
right whales has declined precipitously from about 480 in 2010 to under 350 today.
Their mortality rate is high, mostly because of interaction with humans: many
are struck by ships, and many others are entangled in rope from both gillnets
and lobster gear, which can open wounds and lead to lethal infection. The
demise of females has led to a decline of newborn calves below the 50 per year needed
for the population to recover. Fifteen have been born so far in 2022.
From here, the problem gets complicated. Climate change contributes, because as the Gulf of Maine warms faster than any other part of the earth’s oceans, the whales have followed their main food source—the tiny shrimplike calanus finmarchicus—northward into Canadian waters, notably the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a shipping area where collisions are likely.
