In late May, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released the final version of its much-anticipated Biological Opinion on fishery management plans for ten fisheries, including the lobster fishery, operating in federal waters. The final … Continue reading
“The MLA will not let over-reaching regulations based on inaccurate data erase the Maine lobster fishery and our fishing heritage,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), in response to two … Continue reading
In December 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released its draft amendments to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, commonly known as the whale rules. The draft rules, designed to reduce risk to … Continue reading
In February, the Government of Canada announced its 2021 rules designed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from encounters with vessels and fishing gear. Increasingly large aggregations of feeding right whales have been sighted … Continue reading
Right whales will continue to decline unless other actions taken Two major announcements related to North Atlantic right whales and the U.S. lobster fishery were made by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as 2020 … Continue reading
On November 16, 2020, Judge Lance Walker ordered a temporary stay in the lawsuit led by Max Strahan, aka Man Against Xtinction, in September 2019 in U.S. District court in Bangor. Strahan had brought suit … Continue reading
In January 2020, Max Strahan, a self-described whale activist, filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against the state. He contended that the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) licensing of fixed gear fisheries … Continue reading
Every year, NOAA Fisheries estimates the endangered North Atlantic right whale population abundance and shares that estimate at the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium’s annual meeting, held this year on Oct 27-28, 2020. This year’s … Continue reading
Maine and other New England states with a lobster fishery are developing plans to reduce the risk of entanglement by North Atlantic right whales in lobster gear by 60% as required by the National Marine … Continue reading
Maine lobstermen are bracing for the release of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) draft whale rules and Biological Opinion which have been three years in the making. What changes will the rules require of … Continue reading
