May 5, 2022 — Though a new rule from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration affecting the gear lobster fisherman can use has gone into effect, it will not yet be enforced.
As of May 1, lobster fishermen fishing in federal waters are now required to use ropes with weak points approved by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) that will break if a whale becomes entangled in them.
The rule requiring the gear was part of a final rule announced by NOAA on August 31, 2021 amending the agency’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, which attempts to reduce the number of injuries and deaths to North Atlantic right whales, listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Read the full story at Maine Wire