January 21, 2021 — Federal regulators last night detailed proposed new rules for Maine lobstermen and other commercial fishermen whose gear and trap rope poses a risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Officials at the Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office are proposing to reduce the risk of damaging and deadly entanglements by more than 60 percent. Possible measures include a use of weakened ropes that whales can break through, seasonal area closures and changes in the minimum number of traps required per line.
Several industry stakeholders participating in the online meeting criticized estimates of costs to the industry, and that federal analysis doesn’t account for all the Maine-based boats that harvest in one potential closure area about 20 miles off the state’s coast.