June 28, 2021 — A new rule from federal regulators last week creates thousands of miles of “deep sea coral protection areas” in the Gulf of Maine, including two off Mount Desert Island and on Georges Bank.
The new rule designates a coral protection area in an 8-square-mile area southwest of Mount Desert Rock – a small, rocky island about 20 nautical miles south of Mount Desert Island. Vessels are prohibited from fishing with bottom-tending mobile gear in the area, though vessels will still be able to fish for lobsters using trap gear.
The Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral Protection Area will be a 31-square-mile protected zone about 25 miles southeast of the island, with the same restrictions as Mount Desert Rock.
The new rule also establishes a protection area of 25,000 square miles on the Georges Bank outer continental shelf, south of Cape Cod.