MAINE PUBLIC • August 31, 2021
Federal regulators on Tuesday morning issued new rules for lobster and other trap-pot fisheries that aim to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from harmful entanglements. The new rule includes a seasonal closure of a large area of fishing grounds dozens of miles off Maine's midcoast, requires the use of weak "breakaway" rope and increases the number of traps that must be used per line, thus reducing the overall amount of rope in the water.