Saving Whales May Hurt Lobster Catches

In a threat to the palates of gourmets everywhere, Northeast lobstermen may have to pull up their gear because endangered whales are dying entangled in trap lines.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is deciding whether to close areas such as Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of Maine to lobster catching for several months a year while the endangered humpback and North Atlantic right whales feed and mate there.

More than 30 whales have become stuck in lobster lines in East Coast waters over a five-year period. Twelve have died.

The proposed restrictions threaten to limit not only the livelihood of the 12,000 to 14,000 lobstermen from Maine to New Jersey, but also some of the best seafood in the country, pitting lobster lovers against whale huggers.

“If they try to restrict these guys from fishing when they normally fish, or in areas they normally fish, that hurts,” said Bill Adler, executive director of the 1,100-member Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Assn.

What Alaska is to salmon, New England is to lobsters--home of the best. Lobstermen landed 34,931 tons of the large-clawed Atlantic variety in 1994, the last year for which figures are available.

The restriction would probably hike lobster prices that are already rising because of lower ocean temperatures. Lobster prices have risen by nearly $2 pound this year.

The tougher restrictions are contained in the agency’s proposed 1997 List of Fisheries, classifying each fishing site by its effect on marine mammals. Lobster waters would move from a category 3 to the highest category of 1, meaning that lobster catching poses a high risk of death or injury to endangered species.

Lobstermen and others can submit comments on the proposal before Oct. 15. The fisheries service will make its decision by Jan. 1.

Whale activists say the federal restrictions would be long overdue.

The fisheries service “has historically refused to deal with this situation,” said Max Strahan of Boston-based GreenWorld, which has sued federal and state agencies to enforce laws protecting endangered species.

More than 30 whales entangled themselves in lobster gear from 1990 to 1994, the fisheries service said. Of that total, 11 humpbacks died or suffered serious injuries and one right whale died.

“No more right whales can be allowed to be killed if their species can be expected to survive,” Strahan said.