New laws implemented to protect Northern Right whales from fishing gear.

08/10/2006 00:00:00 NOAA Fisheries Service has issued a final rule implementing new measures to further reduce the risk of entangling large whales in fishing gear along the East Coast of the US. Large whales including fins, humpbacks, and the very rare Northern right whale are all known to become entangled in fishing gear—mostly pot/trap and gillnet gear. Sometimes the resulting injuries are slight and the gear comes loose after a short time. But other times, the gear seriously injures and eventually kills the whale.

By adjusting the way gear is constructed and when and where is can be used, we are trying to reduce and eventually eliminate entanglements. We learn as we go and adjust the fishing rules as we find ways to make the gear less harmful for whales.

The new measures cover commercial fishing operations that use the types of trap/pot or gillnet gear that are known to, or could, harm large whales. The measures in the rule are identical to those identified as the preferred alternative in the final environmental impact statement for this action, published by the agency in August. The final rule and other supporting documentation can be accessed online here: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp Markings for identification
More trap/pot and gillnet fisheries are now included under the whale protection plan, the areas exempted from all or portions of the plan are expanded both in coastal waters and in deep offshore waters, and more markings will be required on fishing gear to improve understanding of how and where entanglements occur. Short-duration management areas currently used to protect unexpected aggregations of Northern right whales will be eliminated six months after publication of the final rule. Expanded seasonal area management zones apply until one year after publication of the final rule, when affected fisheries would be required to use sinking groundline on a broad-scale basis. See the final rule and other supporting documentation for more specifics on these and other requirements.

Ship Strikes and Entanglements
Between 2001 and 2005, NOAA Fisheries Service confirmed 133 entanglement events, 42 ship strikes, and 292 mortalities among large whales along the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. and adjacent Canadian Maritimes. Entanglements were identified as the cause of 26 whale deaths, and ship strikes the cause of 27 deaths.

Several species of large whales are subject to entanglement, including the Northern right whale, which is also one of the most endangered. Since 1996, NOAA Fisheries Service has been working to eliminate this threat through a program of research, consultation with stakeholders, and regulatory actions. Gear requirements and special management areas have been a large part of this effort.