ROCKLAND, Maine — Weeks after an endangered North Atlantic right whale washed ashore on Martha’s Vineyard after a deadly entanglement in rope linked to lobster gear used in Maine, state officials are casting doubt on whether the initial tangling happened in state waters.
“[The] rope seems much more consistent to federal waters,” Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, said during a meeting of the Lobster Zone D Council on Tuesday.
Despite the belief that the whale wasn’t killed in Maine’s state boundaries, Keliher still maintains that the rope found on the dead animal was similar to the type used in Maine because of its purple marking.
This left many at Tuesday’s meeting to criticize current regulations that mandate weaker lobster rope aimed at protecting the endangered whale. Some lobstermen say this is letting state gear that has been disconnected float out of our borders and become implicated in deaths of animals it didn’t cause.
“The chances of that [rope] showing up on a whale down in Martha’s Vineyard are way less than they are having a breakaway,” Doug McLennan, a member of the Lobster Zone D Council, said Tuesday.
While the exact cause of death of the whale in Martha’s Vineyard is still pending further investigation, the entanglement is leading many of those gathered Tuesday to fear tighter regulations in the future aimed at protecting the endangered species at the expense of the lobster fishery.
“The angst amongst the industry in the last few weeks because of this whale that washed up has gone through the roof,” Dustin Delano, a veteran lobsterman, said Tuesday.
Keliher is expected to meet with federal officials on Wednesday to discuss issues surrounding the right whale.