PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 17, 2021
A more than 950-square-mile stretch of the Gulf of Maine will be off-limits to traditional lobstering starting Oct. 18 through the end of January. Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its final rule on the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, which seeks to reduce the lobster fishery’s threat to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale by 60 percent. The final rule was published in the federal register Friday, starting a 30-day countdown until the area closes to traditional rope-and-buoy lobster trapping through January. Ropeless fishing, a high-tech approach not yet implemented commercially in Maine, still will be allowed.