Letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman

SENATOR COLLINS WORKS TO PROTECT MAINE'S LOBSTER INDUSTRY AS NEW FISHING RULES CONSIDERED

Senator Susan Collins is working with federal regulatory
agencies to protect Maine's lobster industry from being adversely affected by
new fishing regulations that are currently under consideration. The National
Marine Fisheries Service has proposed a rule to amend the Atlantic Large Whale
Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) that would strongly impact Maine lobstermen.
While Senator Collins supports the overall goal of the ALWTRP, to protect the
endangered right whale, she believes that any changes to fishing regulations
must take into consideration "the true economic impact" those changes will
have on Maine's lobster industry.

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the annual cost of
the proposed rule would be $14.2 million, and the Maine lobster industry is
expected to absorb $12.8 million of that cost. But Senator Collins believes
the impact on Maine's lobster industry and the state economy would be even
greater.

"The adverse economic impact on small, family-owned vessels would be the
greatest in the near-shore areas. In fact, more than 75 percent of the
projected cost of the rule is expected to be incurred by lobstermen operating
in the inshore and near-shore areas of Maine," said Senator Collins. "I urge
that further analysis of the true regulatory cost of this rule is needed and
reasonable alternatives be considered that would minimize the economic impact
on the lobster industry. Only then, will these regulations work to protect
both the right whale and the Maine fishing industry"

The full text of Senator Collins' letter is below:

The Honorable Rob Portman
Director
The Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Mr. Portman:

I am writing to convey my concerns about the proposed rule to amend the
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP). The fishing industry is an
important component of Maine's economy and heritage, and changes to the ALWTRP
will affect many fishermen throughout my state. Therefore, I request your
careful consideration of this rule and the socio-economic impacts it will have
on Maine.

Fixed-gear fisheries, especially the lobster fishery, are very important
to the local economies of Maine's costal communities. Maine's lobster
fishery, which is valued at over $300 million, is composed of more than 7,000
license holders. As you can imagine, there are many fishermen in Maine who
are anxiously following the development of modifications to the ALWTRP.

There are a number of concerns that the Maine fishing industry would like
addressed as these modifications of the ALWTRP move from the proposed to the
final stage. I would like to highlight some vital modifications to the
proposed rule that are essential for Maine's commercial fisheries. Chief
among my concerns is that the true economic impact of this rule is not
reflected in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. In fact, I have not
seen evidence that an accurate socioeconomic baseline for the lobster industry
was established in formulating this rule.

A primary issue is the proposed limitations on floating groundlines.
Maine's rocky bottom habitat is unique along the Atlantic coast and much of it
is not compatible with sinking or neutrally buoyant groundlines. Operational
costs and gear loss due to interactions with Maine's rocky bottom habitat make
sinking and neutrally buoyant groundlines unworkable in many areas of the
state. Maine fishermen cannot be limited to using sinking and neutrally
buoyant groundlines, as currently proposed - some flotation is operationally
needed.

The development of a low-profile groundline provides great promise for
both the industry and our conservation goals. The State of Maine, in
cooperation with the lobster industry, continues to research the development
of low-profile groundlines with the support of the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS). As soon as a workable low-profile groundline is fully
developed and tested, the ALWTRP must be flexible enough to incorporate this
new development in a timely way. Until low-profile groundline is developed
that will serve the needs of conservation and the industry, access to floating
groundlines is necessary.

There is strong support in Maine for Alternative 5 contained in the
Proposed Rule for the ALWTRP. Unfortunately, this alternative was not
selected as one of the preferred alternatives by the National Marine Fisheries
Service. As the modifications to the ALWTRP move from the proposed stage to
the final stage, it is vital that Alternative 5 be implemented with the
exemption lines originally proposed by the State of Maine.

The exemption lines proposed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources
during the scoping process are based on 35 years of sound data obtained from
the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Additionally, this exemption area
contains the rocky terrain of Maine's coastline that does not support feeding
whales and makes the use of sinking groundlines dangerous and impractical. As
NMFS has recognized, the marginal benefit to whale protection in the inshore
area would be minimal. However, the adverse economic impact on small, family-
owned vessels would be the greatest in the near-shore areas. In fact, more
than 75 percent of the projected cost of the rule is expected to be incurred
by lobstermen operating in the inshore and near-shore areas of Maine.

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the annual cost of
this rule will be $14.2 million, and the lobster industry is expected to
absorb $12.8 million of that cost. I believe even these figures do not truly
capture the impact this rule could have on Maine's economy. For example, NMFS
estimates that sinking groundlines will cost up to 73 percent more than
currently used groundlines. However, lobstermen and rope manufacturers agree
that the initial replacement cost of the rope could far exceed this.
Furthermore, NMFS does not recognize that the sinking groundlines will have to
be replaced far more frequently than floating groundlines and many lobster
traps will need to be replaced due to gear lost from fishing sinking line.
Also, the DEIS does not give consideration to the increased labor costs that
will be necessary to refit lobster gear. The projected costs will only be a
fraction of the realized costs to the lobster industry.

The modification of the ALWTRP will have profound implications for
Maine's coastal economy. I urge that further analysis of the true regulatory
cost of this rule is needed and reasonable alternatives be considered that
would minimize the economic impact on the lobster industry. Only then, will
these regulations work to protect both the right whale and the Maine fishing
industry.

The Maine lobster industry is an environmentally responsive fishery that
has worked hard to protect endangered whales. Furthermore, providing enhanced
protection of whales and utilizing alternatives that are less onerous to the
lobster industry are not mutually exclusive goals. The changes I have outlined
in this letter are cooperative, common sense measures that would increase the
protection of whales without imposing such a financially detrimental burden on
the lobster industry.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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