Dive Deeper

Federal law requires reducing risk to endangered right whales. Here’s what the rules are today—and what’s on the table.

It’s been hard to keep track of all the lawsuits, hearings, gear changes, and court decisions over the years. Here’s what the law actually says, which rules are in effect right now, and what’s coming next.

There are two federal laws that require the government to reduce risk to right whales. 

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) establishes the framework for the federal whale plan, and the Take Reduction Team as the body that advises NMFS on the development of the whale plan. The MMPA sets the maximum human-caused loss the population can sustain while still recovering, known as Potential Biological Removal, or PBR. The risk-reduction target affects all fisheries that interact with right whales and is based on the gap between the estimated number of right whales killed or seriously injured by U.S. fisheries and PBR. For right whales, the PBR is less than one per year.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires NMFS to prepare a Biological Opinion, or BiOp, evaluating whether the federal lobster fishery jeopardizes the survival and recovery of right whales. Because right whales are endangered marine mammals, the MMPA adds another layer of protection. Before NMFS can authorize the incidental take of right whales in the federal lobster fishery in the BiOp, it must first determine that the fisheries will have only a negligible impact on the population as required under MMPA. This is called Negligible Impact Determination, or NID, and it is more conservative than PBR. In the last BiOp, NMFS concluded that risk from federal fisheries had to be reduced by 98% through its Conservation Framework to avoid jeopardizing the species. 

These laws remain on the books across changes in federal administrations and can only be changed by Congress.

  • Current Maine-specific requirements include:

Remove Rope from the Water

  • Minimum traps per trawl (trawling up): The number of buoy lines in the water was reduced by requiring more traps per buoy line in certain areas.
  • Sinking groundline: Line between traps on the seafloor must sink which reduced the amount of rope in the water column.
  • Seasonal restricted area: Certain areas and seasons are closed to fishing buoy lines when whale risk is highest. The LMA1 Seasonal Restricted Area is closed to fishing with buoy lines from October through January.

Weaken and Mark Remaining Rope

  • Weak rope and weak links:  All buoy lines are required to use 1700 lb breaking strength engineered weak rope or weak inserts at certain points in the line to reduce the chance a whale stays entangled or gets severely injured.
  • Gear marking: Maine gear must include specific purple marks on the buoy lines to help identify the origin of the gear if it is recovered from a whale. Additional green marks are required for buoy lines in federal waters.

Other Universal Requirements

  • No buoy lines at the surface
  • No wet storage of gear; all gear must be hauled at least once every 30 days
  • All buoy lines maintained as knot-free as possible

Maine Exempt waters – Choose One

  • Incorporate a 600 lb breakaway below the buoy
  • All buoy lines must be made of sinking rope
  • All ground lines must be made of sinking rope

In December, 2022, Congress deemed the Northeast lobster fisheries in compliance with the MMPA and ESA and paused any new whale regulations until December 31, 2028. It also provided more than $50 million in funds for targeted research on right whale presence in the Gulf of Maine and development of whale safe gear technology. 

The pause provides temporary relief from new whale regulations but doesn’t change the requirements of the MMPA or the ESA. The pause can only be extended by Congress. 

A Congressional bill, H.R. 9436, known as the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, was introduced in the House to extend the pause to 2035. The outcome of that bill is not decided. We need to get prepared now so we aren’t surprised later.

New whale rules and a new Biological Opinion must be implemented by December 31, 2028. NMFS has set a schedule to develop new whale rules and will convene the Take Reduction Team at the end of 2026. The current timeline estimates NMFS seeking ideas for new rules at the end of the summer (Scoping), a proposed rule in the Fall of 2027, and Final Rule in the Fall of 2028. The shape of these new rules will depend on the updated right whale population estimate, risk reduction target, data, modeling, legal review, and—importantly—input from you.

Find out what’s on the table, and what you need to know to be ready to show up when it’s time.

What we still don’t know

  • The revised population estimate or risk reduction target
  • What risk reduction measures will be proposed
  • Whether Congress will extend the pause
This fall, the Take Reduction Team (TRT) will start discussions on future regulations. Share your input now so your representatives at the table understand your concerns before those discussions begin.
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