Tag Archives: Massachusetts state waters
Judge dismisses case to ban lobster lines, but opens door to future right whale protections
A federal judge may have delivered the legal roadmap to ban lobstermen from using vertical buoy lines in a long-awaited ruling this week. The case centered around concerns that the lines, authorized by the state of Massachusetts, entangle and kill critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. But Judge Indira Talwani dismissed the case because, she wrote, the plaintiff Max Strahan, a controversial whale advocate, had questionable credibility in some instances and failed to prove that he has a personal stake, or standing, in the case, a critical component of the lawsuit. >click to read< 12:37
Massachusetts: Coast-Wide Shellfish Closure
Due to yesterday’s storm with its associated coastal flooding, ALL shellfish areas in Massachusetts state waters are now CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE with an exemption for the adductor muscle of Bay and Sea Scallops only. Assessment of area status is beginning today, Friday January 5, 2018. Please see the official closure notice for more detail. click here The above-described areas shall remain closed until notification has been received from the Division that the areas have been placed into an open status. 11:57 
