December 2, 2020 — Multiple conservation and wildlife protection groups have filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service calling for new rulemaking that includes the prohibition of vertical lines in certain areas.
The petition, submitted 2 December, calls for emergency regulations prohibiting the use of trap/pot and gillnet fishing using static vertical lines in certain areas, and the expansion of two existing closures both “geographically and temporally.” The closures would take place off of Southern New England, and would exempt fishing that uses newer ropeless technologies.