The Trump Administration said it supports a proposal by Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden to push back new federal protections for North Atlantic Right Whales to 2035.
A moratorium on new federal rules around right whales is already in place until 2028 due to concerns from lobsterman who say certain regulations for the endangered species would cripple the fishing industry.
A Monday memo from the President said Golden's bill would also extend the requirements for the National Marine Fisheries Service to promote the innovation and adoption of gear technologies in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries.
“The need to protect Maine’s iconic lobster industry knows no party. I’m grateful for the President’s support for Maine’s lobstermen and hopeful that my colleagues in the House will join me in quickly passing this bill into law,” Golden said in a statement.
The North Atlantic Right Whale population currently sits at around 380 individuals, according to the New England Aquarium.
The Maine Lobsterman's Association expressed support for the bill saying, more research is needed to determine how, when, and where additional regulation may be necessary.
"To protect them, we need to know where they are and how they overlap with the fishery, so that we can put measures in place that matter to the whales without causing undue harm to the fishery," said MLA President and Executive Director Patrice McCarron.
While right whale population has increased over the last four years, and 23 new calves were born this year, research shows their most common cause of death is still entanglement in fishing gear or colliding with vessels.
Rachel Rilee, is the oceans policy specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity who cited NOAA data saying cases of whales getting tangled in fishing gear are on the rise.
"Another seven years would absolutely result in more entanglements and more death for the right whale, which is only going to make it harder to make gains in conservation at the end of that extended period," Rilee said.
Golden's bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources and still needs to be voted on in Congress.
