[ad_1]
A gaggle of lobster fishermen has sued fishing regulators in federal courtroom, claiming that new digital monitoring necessities designed to guard uncommon whales are unconstitutional.
The new guidelines went into impact on Dec. 15 and require fishermen with federal lobster fishing permits to put in 24-hour digital tracking gadgets on their boats. The Maine Department of Marine Resources, which regulates fisheries in Maine, has promoted the brand new rule as a method to gather higher knowledge that may each profit the fishery and assist save the vanishing North Atlantic proper whale, which is susceptible to doubtlessly deadly entanglement in fishing gear.
Five lobstermen who’re members of a lobster fishing union filed their lawsuit in federal courtroom final week. The fishermen mentioned they oppose the requirement that the tracking gadgets have to be operational no matter what the boat is getting used for at the time.
LOUISIANA ENDING INSHORE SHRIMP SEASON MONDAY, WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS IN STATE’S EAST
“The plaintiffs contend that minute-by-minute surveillance of Maine’s federally licensed lobster fleet is unconstitutional, unwarranted and unfair to Maine lobstermen, who have proven through the actions of generations of lobstering families that they are good stewards of the ocean ecosystems essential to their livelihoods,” mentioned Thimi Mina and Alfred Frawley IV, attorneys for the fishermen, in a press release.
A lobster rears its claws after being caught off Spruce Head, Maine, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Fishing monitoring, whether or not by human employees or digital surveillance, has lengthy been a contentious concern amongst industrial fishermen. Regulators defend the principles as vitally vital to gather knowledge used to handle fisheries, however many fishing teams view them as overreach.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission introduced the monitoring guidelines in 2022. The fee mentioned in paperwork at the time that “it is critical to gather and provide updated” knowledge about industrial fishing to assist the correct whales, which quantity lower than 360.
The Atlantic States fee has not had time to completely overview the fishermen’s grievance, a spokesperson for the fee mentioned. Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, mentioned the info collected by the trackers would profit lobster fishermen in the long term.
“Data from the trackers is a critical component of the Atlantic states’ effort to ensure that the lobster industry is not burdened with management decisions based on assumptions derived from insufficient data,” Keliher mentioned.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The tracking gadgets had been issued to Maine lobstermen utilizing congressional funding, state officers mentioned. Not all the lobster fishermen issued the trackers have put in them, mentioned Virginia OIsen, the Maine Lobstering Union’s political director. Olsen mentioned the courtroom case, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, doesn’t but have a listening to date.
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink