February 3, 2025 — A Massachusetts court on Monday restored federal protections for endangered whales off New England against entanglement in fishing equipment, overruling a lower court that struck down the federal rule.
The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association challenged the National Marine Fishers Service (NMFS) rule, finalized in 2024, which closed a 200-square-mile stretch of federal water between February and April. The severely endangered right whale, hunted nearly to extinction during the age of whaling, frequents the area during that period. Ship strikes and entanglement in lobstering gear are a major threat to the whales, believed to have a remaining population of fewer than 400.