William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review
Abstract
Every year, millions of sharks, turtles, whales, and other marine life are swept up in fishing gear never meant for them. This collateral damage, known as by-catch, is a persistent and deadly problem in the fishing industry. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that around 38 million tonnes of global marine catch each year—40% of all fish pulled from the ocean—is unintended by-catch. Unfortunately, the WWF approximation of annual by-catch likely underestimates the proper amount of by-catch because their estimation includes little information on large marine animals, such as turtles and cetaceans which are also caught in the by-catch process. Another unsettling reality: the United States imports 70–85% of its seafood, and countries like China, Portugal, and the European Union lack regulatory programs targeted at reducing by-catch.
This Note focuses on reducing by-catch from Maine lobstermen through Maine’s Right to Food Amendment, ratified in 2021. Maine’s Right to Food gives Maine lobstermen the right to harvest food sustainably and obligates the state to fulfill that right. One such way is by providing funding to encourage the voluntary use of bycatch-friendly equipment to harvest lobster sustainably.
This Note first discusses the amendment’s definition and scope, arguing that the Right to Food should be broadly interpreted to cover the right to harvest lobster sustainably. Second, the Note addresses funding opportunities for local fishermen and lobstermen to use bycatch-friendly equipment voluntarily. Third, the Note incorporates the right whale controversy to demonstrate why regulation and forced compliance with complicated rules do not solve the by-catch issue. The Note concludes with a brief discussion of several other uses for the amendment, allowing for further research.
This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.