Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026
Floor Speech
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1499, I call up the bill (H.R. 9436) to amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to extend the time period for which certain regulations concerning the North Atlantic right whale are effective, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. 9436.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 9436, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, which will protect one of the world's most iconic fisheries and the American jobs, communities, and families that depend on it.
In Maine, lobster accounts for 75 percent of the total value of the State's commercial fisheries, supporting an estimated $2 billion in economic activity and 17,500 jobs.
While critical to the State's economy, a robust lobster industry isn't just about dollars and cents. It is about individuals, families, and communities whose stories and traditions are directly tied to this industry that has operated for more than 70 years.
However, Maine lobstermen have faced tremendous adversity over the past several decades. The American lobster fishery has been under attack from radical groups determined to end this way of life. These serial litigants have pushed for a regulatory regime that could shut down the entire fishery.
For nearly 30 years, the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team has overseen the Maine lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. They have implemented and updated a take reduction plan with extensive regulatory requirements designed to minimize the fishery's impact on North Atlantic right whales. What they are doing is working. For decades, the industry has led conservation efforts to reduce right whale entanglements in their gear.
Despite the American lobster fishery virtually eliminating its impact on right whales, the take reduction plan has faced repeated litigation, leaving the industry subject to regulatory whiplash. The American lobster fishery has been subject to four different biological opinions between 2010 and 2021, with ever more draconian restrictions.
When the National Marine Fisheries Service issued its most recent biological opinion in 2021, unsurprisingly, the radical groups remained dissatisfied and continued to litigate. At the same time, Maine's Democratic Governor, Janet Mills, and the lobster industry argued that NOAA failed to utilize the best available science.
Facing new regulations that threatened to shut down the entire fishery, the Maine delegation worked on a bipartisan basis in December 2022 to enact a regulatory pause for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. This pause provided ESA and MMPA coverage for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries through 2028, providing the State and the industry more time to develop new gear innovations, prudent conservation measures, and conduct more research on the fishery's interactions with right whales.
Since then, the State of Maine, the industry, and other scientific and research bodies have made progress, investing more than $90 million in research. However, it is clear that more time is needed to gather the necessary data and incorporate it into final regulations. Representative Lawler's bill would provide MMPA and ESA coverage for these fisheries through 2035, providing the necessary time to get these regulations right without the threat of more frivolous litigation.
I thank Representative Lawler for carrying this legislation, and also I recognize the gentleman from Maine, Representative Jared Golden, for his tireless leadership on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a link to letters of support from the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources, the National Fisheries Institute, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association, Maine Lobstermen's Association, Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association, New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen's Association, and the Lobster Advisory Council: Https:// naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/binder1. pdf
Mr. Speaker, I will say that what is happening in Maine is working. We should be celebrating this. We have seen a slight 2.1-percent increase in the population of right whales over the past 4 years. There has been one right whale death in the last, I think, 20 to 25 years attributed to Maine fishing gear. This is an example of how government and industry can work together to protect the fishery, plus continue this economic activity.
Hageman), the chair for the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee.
Mr. Speaker, NOAA is in the process of building out an acoustic network that can provide near real-time whale locations along the entire East Coast. Meanwhile, NOAA has contracted with a private company to evaluate 11 technologies that have real potential to reduce threats to whales and identify their locations in real time. While several of these are fully mature, many promising technologies are close but need more time.
My colleagues across the aisle would have you believe that the only solution is immediate deployment of ropeless gear, which creates unnecessary safety risks for lobstermen.
We can protect America's lobstermen and the right whale. This bill strikes the right balance.
Mr. Speaker, I am confused by arguments coming from the left. They started off today talking about high prices and the cost of food. What is their solution? They want to shut down another U.S. industry. They want to shut down seafood production.
We are already 80 percent dependent on foreign imports. Their solution is to reduce penalties on Canada and other countries that are our seafood suppliers, shut down 17,500 American jobs, shut down a $2 billion industry in the State of Maine, and ship more of our money overseas to other countries and let them supply our seafood. They don't have near the protections that we have for our other species. There is a lot of flawed logic in the argument that they are trying to make.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I am prepared to close.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, the argument for the motion to recommit reminds me of what President Reagan said--this is the Democrat philosophy--if it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops, then subsidize it.
Unfortunately, if it stops, who we are going to be subsidizing are foreign countries that we are importing seafood from.
To correct the record, it is not 1,700 jobs in Maine; it is 17,000 jobs in Maine--over 17,000 jobs.
We are talking about a serious economic impact, and we are also talking about the fact that what is happening right now is working. Why continue to regulate it? Why put more burdens on Maine lobstermen who are in a tough situation, as fishermen are, around the world?
So the solution is to regulate them more? It is like, hey, we see you are having a hard time, so let's put some more regulations on you. That doesn't work.
Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today would provide much- needed certainty to one of the United States' most important and iconic commercial fisheries, Maine lobster.
When I visited that beautiful State, I loved what they call it there, lobstah. When you think of lobster, you think of something that is woven into the fabric of the history, the ambiance, the beauty of Maine. When people from other States think of Maine, a lot of times what comes to their mind is lobster.
Passing this legislation will give NOAA more time to craft regulations to protect the North Atlantic right whale and will ensure that these regulations are based on the best available science and ensure long-term operational certainty for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries.
The legislation before us helps to advance the goals laid out in President Trump's executive order, ``Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.'' The Trump administration has issued a Statement of Administration Policy expressing support for identical legislation, which I include in the Record. Statement of Administration Policy H.R. 8509--Amending the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to Extend
the Time Period for which Certain Regulations Concerning the North Atlantic Right Whale are Effective, Rep. Golden, D-ME
The Administration strongly supports passage of H.R. 8509, which would extend the time period, from 2028 until 2035, for which the Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Final Rule amending the regulations implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (86 Fed. Reg. 51970) is deemed sufficient to ensure the continued authorizations of the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries are in full compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. It would also extend the requirements for the NMFS to promote the innovation and adoption of gear technologies in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries and promulgate new regulations for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries using existing and innovative gear technologies until 2035. This bill aligns with the Administration's priorities in Executive Order 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness, to promote the adoption of new technology and the productive harvest of our seafood resources.
If H.R. 8509 were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he sign it into law.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Lawler for his leadership on this issue and recognize Representative Golden of Maine for his tireless advocacy for this critical industry on behalf of his constituents and his State that he loves.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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