right whales

The federal funds will help scientists better track and protect North Atlantic right whales, whose distribution patterns have changed within the last decade due to warming waters.

This summer, for the first time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration successfully deployed drones to drop suction cup tags to the backs of right whales congregating on Georges Bank.

Scientists spotted a North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence earlier this month. It is the fifth documented entanglement this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to expand a pilot throughout New England that allows certain lobstermen to fish areas that are seasonally closed to protect endangered right whales. To participate, they must agree to test so-called on-demand or ropeless fishing gear.

State lawmakers are considering a new, million-dollar fund to help Maine lobstermen test fishing gear that's intended to minimize interactions with right whales.

The debate over conservation measures aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales headed to Washington on Tuesday, as Maine lobstermen defended a measure that pauses new federal fishing regulations for the next five years.

Four North Atlantic right whale entanglements have been documented so far in 2023. And despite decades of research, scientists say tracking the species — and developing definitive answers about their encounters with fishing gear — are challenging tasks.

A handful of state Republicans want Maine to claim jurisdiction over a larger swath of coastal waters, in attempt to alleviate federal regulatory pressures on the state's lobster fishery. But state officials and the leading group representing Maine lobstermen say the proposal could make things worse.

Federal legislation from a top House Democrat would undo a six-year pause on new fishing regulations intended to protect right whales. Maine's congressional delegation has promised to oppose it.

The Maine Lobstermen's Association argues the federal government ignored best available data and relied on "bad science" to regulate in favor of endangered North Atlantic right whales. But with an estimated 340 right whales remaining, available data on the whales' whereabouts and their entanglements is often limited, the government said.