ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 13, 2020
A Maine lobster fishing trade group said Monday it will fight for the future of the fishery in court in the wake of a judge’s ruling that the federal government hasn’t done enough to protect rare whales. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled last week that the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to protect North Atlantic right whales by understating lobster fishing’s ability to kill the whales via entanglement in ropes. The ruling stated a remedy will come in the future, and members of the U.S. lobster industry have said they’re concerned that could mean new fishing restrictions. The right whales number only about 400. They’re vulnerable to death by entanglement in gear and collisions with ships.