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The Man in the Middle of Maine's North Atlantic Right Whale Crisis
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As I think you know by now, I believe technology can solve most things - but sometimes the right tech just can’t come fast enough, and in the meantime, the most innovative tool at our disposal may be good old fashioned dialogue.
Such is the case in Maine where a dwindling population of the large and lumbering North Atlantic Right Whale has pitted lobster fishers and environmentalists against each other. The environmentalists say gear entanglements are largely responsible for the spiralling population which they say risks extinction. The Maine lobster fishers say the numbers show they aren’t to blame for mortalities, and most are loath to adopt current "ropeless" gear citing its expense and lack of proven effectiveness. The polemic threatens Maine’s whole lobster industry which, by the way, contributes 1.5 billion dollars to Maine’s annual economy.
Both sides have now sued NOAA, the US agency that oversees fisheries management. One side says the proposed rule changes are overreaching, the other side says they aren’t broad enough.
NOAA, by law, has to convene all parties and attempt to develop consensus recommendations to save the whales. Our next guest has been mediating the difficult work of that group.
David Plumb of the Consensus Building institute grew up in Maine and in honour of the recent Mother’s Day holiday, I should add that he originally learned his mediating craft by taking a class from his mother. Since then he has worked as a professional mediator all around the world.
Today David has the unique, and perhaps unenviable, position of working as the mediator between all of these parties. For us this is an opportunity to better understand what’s at stake and what are the tools available to create both a happier fishery and whale population on the planet.
As you will hear in the podcast, the current congressional ruling pushes changes down the road for several years, while providing for upwards of 50M in annual grant opportunities to innovate solutions. For all of you innovators out there, here are some links about this opportunity:
https://www.maine.gov/dmr/news/fri-12232022-1200-message-commissioner-keliher-federal-budget-package-includes-pause-whale
David Plumb
Consensus Building Institute
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