While utility conflicts can be a problem, it's not too crazy outside of downtown areas. Often, the main just goes back in the same trench as it was and we use a temporary above ground bypass during construction.

The cost of the pipe is only part of it. Opening the pavement, excavation, backfill materials, pavement restoration, and maintenance of traffic add up to a lot.

When it’s your crews and equipment, it’s surprisingly cheap.

Civil engineer that works in the water field. That’s bullshit. Water mains now cost over $250 PER FOOT. Often a lot more. That’s $1.3M+ per mile.

Meanwhile, fixing a water main break is about $4000. So that mile of main would have to break hundreds of times before it is cheaper to replace.

We replace mains because all those breaks costs customers money. But for us, it is almost always cheaper to repair rather than replace.

> gear today

> old gear

These are not the same thing. All they can do is change what they use today. Even ropeless pots that you suggest do not magically eliminate old gear. My point is, they have taken steps to make the gear they use today traceable. They cannot go back in time and do it to already lost gear.

And who is paying for every lobster boat to get ropeless gear?

There is little that can be done about ghosts gear. The lobster industry could stop fishing tomorrow and that would still be there. I don’t get your point. A lobster fished today with new gear does nothing about ghost gear. All they can do is use the best gear today.

You say err on the side of caution, then fine. Shut the industry down and start paying lobster fishermen not to fish ($750,000,000 a year). But all of a sudden, costs will matter when it’s not the lobsterman’s wallets we are hitting.

> The thing about boat/ship collisions is that those are already being addressed with reroutes and speed restrictions. Yes, it's not completely mitigated, but you don't hear the shipping industry complaining and getting politicians involved.

I promise they are not happy and they are likely lobbying as well. Still, I have yet to see them called out as the lobster industry has. The Monterey Bay Aquarium isn't telling us to avoid stuff shipped by boat.

The lobster industry has also made changes, adding weak links to allow whales to break free more easily and sinking lines. Yes, it's not completely mitigated, but you seem to think that's good enough for ships.

> Old gear is still out there

Citation? According to my link, they have to use marked lines after Sept 1, 2022: "By September 1, 2020 all gear must be marked with the purple and green marks referenced above"

But your post implied that they are deliberately avoiding marking their gear so as to avoid it ever being traced back to the Maine lobster industry. That is not true. If this whale was harmed by Maine gear, the purple marks should make that evident.

> Anyways, it's funny to me how much finger pointing there is about this issue. "No it's Canada!" "No it's the high speed boats!" "No it's the cargo ships!" "Stop trying to blame honest lobster fishermen!"

I mean, boat collisions are a documented cause of right whale death, and Canadians fish lobster, too. Surely those potential causes for right whale death should also be addressed.

> Worse though, using colors by communities means that other communities may use the same color and pattern, so there is no way to actually tie ropes with buoys back to the US... Or Canada. And that's how they are technically correct when they say "American gear hadn't killed any North Atlantic Right Whales." It's not been tied back to American gear because it can't be.

That's just not true. In Sept 2020, new marking requirements went into effect that will make is clear if entangled fishing gear comes from Maine: https://www.maine.gov/dmr/sites/maine.gov.dmr/files/docs/2020%20Gear%20Marking%20Requirements%204.27.20%20(1).pdf

Also, it's not like other fisheries use more identifiable equipment. The fact is you can't link the deaths to any specific fishery.

Where is it confirmed this is Maine lobster fishing gear? There are sadly many sources of line in the ocean. And that says nothing about vessel strikes. Why does Maine lobstering get attacked by no other potential sources of entanglement or whale death get addressed?

The question is a complex one. This letter, signed by Democrats and Republicans from the state makes a lot of good points. This article is also pretty unbiased, noting that it is essentially impossible to note where the gear comes from, although Maine gear has been marked since 2020. What I find interesting is that Right Whale populations grew 1990-2010, but only recently started falling. It seems to me that other factors are an issue that may not be understood.