Saving Seafood

Slow Down for Right Whales in Cape Cod Bay

March 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Endangered North Atlantic right whales have returned to Massachusetts waters. As of March 21, there were 89 right whales sighted in Cape Cod Bay, including 3 mother-calf pairs.

We encourage vessel operators to slow down to 10 knots or less to avoid deadly collisions with these whales. In some of these waters, speed restriction measures are in place and enforced. Learn more about federal and state speed restrictions and use the Whale Alert App to stay informed about right whale detections and Right Whale Slow Zones.

Active Seasonal Management Areas 

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Cape Cod Bay, January 1 – May 15

Off Race Point, March 1 – April 30

Great South Channel, April 1 – July 31

Find out more and get the coordinates for each mandatory slow speed zone.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are only about 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

North Atlantic right whales are NOAA Fisheries’ newest Species in the Spotlight. This initiative is a concerted, agency-wide effort to spotlight and save marine species that are among the most at risk of extinction in the near future. 

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

Read the full release here

MASSACHUSETTS: New right whale protection regs leave Cape Cod fishermen feeling trapped

March 25, 2021 — It’s pretty easy to guess what Jon Tolley does for a living.

His house on the quarter-acre lot is nearly surrounded by gravel, with bright yellow and black fishing traps neatly stacked all around.

Tolley is gearing up for the fishing season, and he was outside at a work station Wednesday, a hoodie his only protection against the cool air of early spring. Tolley is headed for a hip replacement in a month, but that wasn’t his only concern.

New state regulations, the result of a lawsuit seeking to protect highly endangered North Atlantic right whales, require that he fit the buoy lines on all 1,200 of his lobster, conch and black sea bass traps with special sleeves that release under the pressure of an adult whale.

Along with collisions with ships, entanglement in vertical fishing line attaching lobster and other pots to buoys is one of the top causes of right whale mortality.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Release of the North Atlantic Right Whale Scenario Planning Summary Report

March 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA has released the North Atlantic Right Whale Scenario Planning Summary Report, which provides the discussions and recommendations from a NOAA Fisheries-led exercise. During the exercise, experts explored plausible future conditions for North Atlantic right whales and developed possible options to address these conditions to improve recovery. This exercise complements and enhances the many important ongoing efforts to recover right whales.

NOAA Fisheries will consider the priority actions identified from this exercise, as well as other relevant information, in its efforts to help with right whale recovery. NOAA will continue to work with our partners to optimize North Atlantic right whale recovery in the future.

Questions?

Contact Diane Borggaard, NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region or Dori Dick, NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources.

Cape Cod lobstermen get free gear to protect endangered right whales

March 22, 2021 — Provincetown lobsterman Bill Souza walked back to his truck carrying a swag bag filled with what looked to be fluorescent orange bucatini. They were like the “bamboo finger trap” puzzles he’d seen as a kid, Souza explained, pulling one “noodle” out of the bag.

The weave on the fabric expanded as Souza stuck a finger in one end of the hollow piece of rope known as a South Shore Sleeve. As he tried to pull his finger out, the weave on the fabric tightened, gripping his finger until he pulled hard enough for it to let go.

This was not a child’s toy that the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, the Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts and the state Division of Marine Fisheries were handing out to fishermen gathered Friday at the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance building. These sleeves and spools of red 3/8-inch rope were developed and given to fishermen around the state to introduce them to the gear they will be using in the coming fishing season. That change is part of a suite of measures passed by the state Marine Fisheries Commission to comply with a judge’s order to reduce entanglements of endangered right whales in state waters.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Slow Zones Extended Protect Right Whales: Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

March 17, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On March 16, 2021, the New England Aquarium aerial survey team observed two aggregations of right whales. The aggregations were observed south of Martha’s Vineyard, MA and south of Nantucket, Island, MA. Both the Martha’s Vineyard, MA and Nantucket Island, MA Slow Zones are extended through March 31, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

South of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, March 7-31, 2021

41 21 N
40 41 N
070 15 W
071 06 W

South of Nantucket, MA, March 7-31, 2021

41 23 N
40 40 N
069 39 W
070 35 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Proposed federal rules to help endangered whales could cost Maine’s lobster industry $10 million

March 15, 2021 — Federal fishing regulators are close to finalizing new rules that would require expensive gear modifications and seasonal fishing closures in Northeast waters to protect the endangered right whale. Maine regulators and fishermen fear the rules would jeopardize Maine’s billion-dollar lobster industry while environmental advocates argue they don’t go far enough.

The public comment period closed March 1 after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hosted virtual public hearings on Feb. 23 and 24. Now, federal regulators are sifting through about 170,000 public comments to incorporate any extra information into their analysis before drafting the final environmental impact statement they hope to release by this summer.

The rule changes, if incorporated, likely wouldn’t go into effect until late 2021 or early 2022.

During the final public hearings, Maine Department of Marine Resource Commissioner Patrick Keliher echoed a statement put out by Gov. Janet Mills earlier that week stating that “a one-size-fits-all approach in the state of Maine will not work.”

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Pilot

New Slow Zone (Martha’s Vineyard) and Extended Slow Zone (Nantucket) to Protect Right Whales

March 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On March 7, 2021, the New England Aquarium survey team observed two aggregations of right whales. The new aggregation was observed south of Martha’s Vineyard, MA. The resighted whale aggregation was observed south of Nantucket, Island, MA. Both the Martha’s Vineyard, MA and Nantucket Island, MA Slow Zones are in effect through March 22, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

South of Martha’s Vineyard, MA, March 7-22, 2021

41 21 N
40 41 N
070 15 W
071 06 W

South of Nantucket, MA, March 7-22, 2021

41 23 N
40 40 N
069 39 W
070 35 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

NOAA extends right whale protection zones to mid-March

March 5, 2021 — The federal government is extending three protective zones off the East Coast that are designed to prevent collisions between ships and whales.

The zones are intended to protect North Atlantic right whales, which number only about 360. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said  the protective zones are located south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, east of Boston and southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Mariners are asked to avoid the areas altogether or transit through them at 10 knots or less. The three zones were established in late February. The Nantucket zone has been extended to March 13 and the Boston and Atlantic City zones have been extended to March 14.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

Federal plan to save right whales has Gov. Mills concerned about Maine’s lobster industry

March 4, 2021 — Gov. Janet Mills has “grave concerns” about a federal plan to save the North Atlantic right whale from extinction, citing its impact on Maine’s lucrative lobster industry.

In a letter to Michael Pentony, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s regional fisheries manager, Mills said she proposed rules aimed at reducing whale entanglement in fishing gear would “necessitate the complete reinvention of the Maine lobster fishery as we know it.”

“The state of Maine is adamant that our federal government must take aggressive action to remedy the inequities of this framework in the years ahead,” Mills wrote.

NOAA is drafting new rules to reduce the possibility of entanglement of right whales in “vertical” line fishing gear such as lobster traps. The rules are set to be finalized on May 31.

Mills’ comments were accompanied by a detailed analysis of NOAA’s plan, pointing out flaws in the research and the federal agency’s assumptions about the impact of vertical gear.

Read the full story at The Center Square

New Slow Zone off Virginia to Protect Right Whales

March 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On March 3, 2021, an observer on board the HDR Naval research vessel observed the presence of right whales east of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Virginia Beach Slow Zone is in effect through March 18, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

East of Virginia Beach, March 3-18, 2021

37 10 N
36 32 N
074 51 W
075 40 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here