PROVINCETOWN, Mass. - The National Marines Fisheries Service is proposing to expand a restricted fishing area off of Massachusetts by 912 square miles to protect whales and marine mammals.
The service says the expansion will help prevent whales from getting entangled in fishing gear. The change would also delay the start date of a fishery closure in Massachusetts Bay from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1. The proposal includes an exemption designed to allow small-vessel fishermen to continue to fish with a small number of traps.
The service is soliciting public comment on its proposal until Nov. 21.