CORRECTED MAP COORDINATES - Northeast Lobster Fishermen: LMA 1 Restricted Area Now in Effect

Please note that the map in the previous bulletin from NOAA Fisheries contained incorrect coordinates for the restricted area. The map below has been corrected.

This notice is being sent on behalf of NOAA Fisheries:

Fishermen must remove all trap/pot gear from this area, and may not set new gear in this area 

On November 16, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit stayed the preliminary injunction issued by the lower court that prevented the roughly 967-square-mile LMA 1 Restricted Area, established by the 2021 amendments to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, from going into effect.

Lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot fishermen fishing in the LMA 1 Restricted Area must remove all trap/pot gear from this area, and may not reset trawls being actively fished, or set new trawls in this area as of today. The area will remain closed through January 31, 2022.

Given the capacity of offshore fishing vessels to remove and relocate trawls as well as potential weather and safety concerns, we anticipate it could take up to two weeks for all lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot gear to be removed from the LMA 1 Restricted Area.

 

The LMA 1 Restricted Area was created to protect endangered right whales from the risk of entanglement from buoy lines in an area of high co-occurrence. Therefore, fishing with traditional persistent buoy lines is not allowed in this area from October 1 through January 31 each year, when right whales are in this area. See recent right whale sightings and acoustic detections on our WhaleMap.

Fishermen who are part of a research project and have obtained the appropriate state and federal permit exemptions may fish in this area with ropeless gear.

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA Fisheries is responsible for implementing Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan measures that reduce mortality and serious injuries of right whales in U.S. commercial fisheries to levels below the stock’s MMPA-defined Potential Biological Removal level, which amounts to less than one North Atlantic right whale per year. 

The agency is also responsible for conserving and recovering the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act and for ensuring that federally permitted fisheries are not jeopardizing the continued existence of this critically endangered species.

For more information, read the bulletin posted on our website.

Questions?

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

For information about gear changes: Contact John Higgins, Northeast Fisheries Liaison, 207-610-3282

For information about Take Reduction Team process and regulations: Contact Marisa Trego, Take Reduction Team Coordinator, 978-282-8484