FAQs

The North Atlantic right whale is a large whale that lives off the East Coast. The current population is estimated at 384 whales. Because there are so few, the law says they must be protected.

New rules must be in place by 2029 because the pause ends at the end of 2028.

That pause is ending. Taking action isn’t optional—the law requires it.

No, ropeless fishing is unlikely to be required for use. DMR and partners are actively testing ropeless gear to keep options on the table for fishermen who may want to access areas closed to buoy lines – now or in the future. So far, field results suggest there are still major issues to work out before ropeless gear can be used. Their findings and your experience matter, and both need to be on the record.

It’s a decision about whether a project (in our case, fishing) meets the requirements of the Endangered Species Act. It basically asks: is fishing putting whales at too much risk? If the answer is yes, new rules must be made to reduce risk to levels allowed under the law.

The current right whale population estimate is 384. Right whales have been listed as an endangered species in the United States since 1970. NMFS has developed a Population Viability Analysis (PVA) to predict the probability of quasi-extinction. Under current mortality estimates, the probability of quasi-extinction in 100 years has declined significantly to 25%.

While rare, whales have been tangled in rope, and some gear has been linked to Maine. This does not happen often, but the law is based on the risk of whales getting tangled—not just proven cases.

Options could include the following, but final decisions have not been made yet. 

• Expansion of weak-link and weak-rope requirements
• Use of weak tag lines one end of the trawl or removing one buoy line
• Buoy line caps in a particular area
• Trap reductions
• Longer minimum trawl requirements 
• Enhanced gear marking requirements
• Additional, and expanded, seasonal buoy line closures 
• Differential rules by zone (inshore vs. offshore, by depth or season)

New gear or gear modifications can come at a cost to fishermen. Typically, when federal regulations require fishermen to modify their gear, there are conversations about ways costs could be offset. In the past, Congress has often budgeted funds to help with the costs of making changes, but that is not guaranteed.

It depends on the final decision. Some rules may only apply when whales are around. Others could be year-round.

Closures are one option being considered. These could be seasonal, area-based, or dynamic in places where whales show up in groups. Again, nothing is final yet. The final rules need to be shaped by the people who fish.

Changes to the total number of traps allowed (and how you set them) are on the table for discussion. Trap limits, new trap-per-trawl rules, or buoy line caps may be considered by the TRT to reduce the amount of rope in the water.

Possibly. Gear marking helps identify where rope comes from. More changes to gear marking could be required, such as additional markings. We don’t anticipate a future change in the colors assigned to state (purple) and federal waters (purple and green) in Maine.

State and federal officers check gear and activity. If you don’t follow the rules, you can be fined or even lose your license.

Canada has its own rules and has made changes too. Trap/pot fisheries in Canada are subject to dynamic closures when whales are present, and regulations also require gear marking and other requirements. There are also differences in the requirements between the two countries, such as the use of float rope, and we understand Maine fishermen in the gray zone are most acutely impacted by this. These concerns are being shared with the TRT, but you can help voice them by showing up to meetings.

The TRT is likely to recommend risk reduction measures that affect lobster fishermen in all New England states. But more fishermen are affected in Maine because we have such a large lobster fishery with a lot of gear in the water. Because surveys for right whales have been limited here in years past, it has been a challenge to identify where the greatest risk to entanglement may be. Maine DMR’s right whale research program is working to improve the survey data in the Gulf of Maine to help better understand where the risk is greatest.

Because right whales are individually identifiable and observed in different habitats over the course of their lives, scientists can use repeated sightings as well as health information and scars to track injuries. A coast-wide disentanglement network disentangles whales and keeps, investigates, and documents any rope or gear found. A stranding network investigates causes of death for any dead whales found. All of this knowledge contributes to the picture, but it is still hard to trace injuries, deaths, and gear back to one fishery or place. That’s why this work is based on calculating risk, not just individual incidents. Trap/pot gear represents the vast majority of rope in the water, so that is a major part of the risk model.

Yes. Right whales are present in waters fished by Maine fishermen, though they are more often detected outside of state waters.  Surveys from boats and planes by Maine DMR have sighted a small number of right whales, which are viewable on Whalemap.org and mostly occur in federal waters.  Right whales are routinely detected at passive acoustic monitoring sites, with most of those detections occurring at the sites located offshore in the Gulf of Maine. Maine DMR whale distribution data is publicly available.

Regulations prohibit approaching or staying within 500 yards of a right whale. If you see a right whale, slow your vessel speed, give it plenty of space, and consider reporting the sighting.  There are many ways to report these “opportunistic” sightings of right whales, including to NMFS as well as directly to Maine DMR and the Maine Marine Patrol. If conditions allow, Maine DMR may be able to deploy resources for a sighting and if necessary, work with fishermen to consider if actions can be taken to reduce risk. 

That is the goal. The idea is to lower risk so the population has a better chance to grow. Over the past few years, the population of North Atlantic right whales has seen a small increase that suggests that current measures have already helped the population grow. The TRT will evaluate how much more risk reduction is needed to meet the legal requirements.

Rules can change over time. But this issue is not going away unless the North Atlantic right whale population steadily recovers. The law stays in place, even if rules get updated.

Yes—and early input matters most. We’ll get a chance to provide input on the options available early in the process through scoping comment periods and TRT meetings. Once options for reducing risk are developed, they will typically be available for comment through Maine DMR, Zone Council or regional meetings for input before recommendations go to NOAA from the TRT. Once the draft rules are written by NOAA there is another chance to provide input and request options that offer risk reduction equal to the ones in the draft rule. That draft comment period is the last opportunity to provide input and make changes before the rules are finalized.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) writes the rules. A group called the Take Reduction Team (TRT) uses information from us to help shape the options. Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and industry reps are part of that process.

It could change how, where, and when you fish. The goal is to keep the fishery going while lowering risk to whales.

Yes. Vessel strikes, changes in food, birthing risks, disease, and ocean conditions also affect them.

Stay connected to Maine DMR, your zone council, and industry groups. When updates come out, that’s when you need to pay attention and speak up. Contact us with your questions, your ideas, and to learn more about when and where to show up: 

info@ourfishingfuture.com