A lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity calls on the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect Pacific humpback whales, which are being harmed, often killed, when they are entangled in fishing nets.
Catherine Kilduff, an attorney with the Center, told Jefferson Public Radio the case is clear.
“The Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act both prohibit killing endangered whales, but commercial fisheries can get a permit if there is a negligible impact to the population,” said Kilduff. “And that’s what we’re challenging, is the decision that there is a negligible impact to humpback whales.”
The lawsuit is opposed by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. Their representative, Glenn Spain, told JPR, “The impacts from the fishing industry are diminishing year by year. As we deploy these new methods, we expect that they will be heading towards zero.”
The Center disputes this hopeful picture, saying that as climate change forces humpback whales to change their movements, they will be interacting with human fishing more often. It urges fishing crews to switch to ropeless pop-up gear, which will be safer for whales.
The PCFFA’s response is that pop-up gear is more expensive and less reliable.
The National Marine Fisheries Service declined to comment because the case is still in court.
By John M. Burt
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