February 13, 2023 — A group of Massachusetts lobster fishers has sued the federal government over an emergency closure of fishing grounds that are designed to protect a vanishing species of whale.
The closure, enacted Feb. 1, blocked off about 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) of Massachusetts Bay from lobster fishing until the end of April. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the closure was necessary to protect North Atlantic right whales from dangerous entanglement in fishing ropes.