December 22, 2020 — Officials in the U.S. state of Massachusetts are proposing a complete ban on lobster fishing in all state waters during periods when the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale is in the region.
The new regulations would prevent lobstermen from setting traps between February and May – and potentially longer if the whales remain offshore, according to The Boston Globe. The regulations would also require lobstermen to use more easily breakable rope, limit the state’s lobster catch, and curtail the use of gillnets in state waters.