Tag Archives: Vertical ropes

Lobstermen And Conservationists To Closely Watch Right Whale Court Case

June 11, 2021   National, New England

Conservationists and fishermen will be closely watching a federal court case closely over the next 12 days. “Arguably, the existence of the Massachusetts lobster fishery is at stake today,” The case is being pushed by activist Max Strahan, who wants a judge to ban Massachusetts from authorizing fisheries that use vertical ropes that can entangle and kill North Atlantic right whales. >click to read< 08:07

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Biological Opinion to Protect Right Whales Met With Opposition on All Sides

May 28, 2021   Mid Atlantic, National, New England

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released a key report called a Biological Opinion yesterday that calls for a 98 percent reduction in risk to North Atlantic right whales over the next 10 years. The goal is meant to be achieved over the course of four phases that correspond with increasingly tight restrictions on lobster and crab fisheries as well as other fixed-gear fisheries that use vertical buoy ropes. Vertical ropes attached to trap/pot gear is known to lethally entangle the whales. >click to read< 16:38

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