January 5, 2021 — NOAA has proposed new modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan that are intended to address entanglements in fishing gear, one of the leading causes of death in the highly endangered animal.
The regulations are targeting pot and trap fisheries – specifically the Northeast Jonah crab and lobster fisheries – which according to NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Chris Oliver “deploy about 93 percent of the buoy lines fished in areas where right whales occur.” The plan would require gear modifications to reduce the number of vertical lines by requiring more traps on each line, in addition to the insertion of weaker parts of the rope; modify existing seasonal restrictions; add “up to two” new seasonal buoy line closures; and modify gear markings to include state-specific marking colors, along with increasing the number and area of marked lines.