Effective March 8, 2024
Today, NOAA finalized the rule to make permanent the addition of the Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge into the larger Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) annually. The wedge will now be closed to commercial trap/pot fisheries during this time in order to reduce the immediate high level of risk of incidental mortality and serious injury to North Atlantic right whales in this area as part of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.
In 2024, this restricted area will go into effect 30 days after publication to provide fishermen notice to remove their gear. This closure to persistent buoy lines will begin on Friday, March 8, 2024 and end on April 30, 2024. In 2025 and beyond, the larger MRA will be in effect February 1 - April 30.
This rule permanently addresses the risk created by this open wedge when large numbers of right whales are using and transiting through the area while trap/pot gear is actively being fished or stored in preparation for the May 1 opening of federal waters within the Massachusetts Restricted Area.
This closure to buoy lines was requested by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, which expressed concern about the high density of gear and whales in this area based on previous years’ observations. The area was closed through emergency action in 2022 and 2023. This rule permanently addresses the risk created by this open wedge when large numbers of right whales are using and transiting through the area while trap/pot gear is actively being fished or stored in preparation for the May 1 opening of federal waters within the Massachusetts Restricted Area. For more information on this closure and the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, visit our website.
Reducing the risk of entanglement of commercial fishing gear on the North Atlantic Right Whale is one of the overarching goals of NOAA Fisheries’ North Atlantic Right Whale Road to Recovery. The Road to Recovery framework is built on the foundation of the statutory requirements that NOAA Fisheries is charged with implementing under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It describes our ongoing efforts to halt the North Atlantic right whale decline and encapsulates all of our ongoing work across the agency in collaboration with our partners and stakeholders to conserve and rebuild the population.
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