Feds announce funding push for ropeless fishing gear that spares rare whales

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New efforts to convert some types of commercial fishing to ropeless gear that is safer for rare whales will be supported by millions of dollars in funding, federal authorities said.

Federal fishing managers are promoting the use of ropeless gear in the lobster and crab fishing industries because of the plight of North Atlantic right whales. The whales number less than 360, and they face existential threats from entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with large ships.

The federal government is committing nearly $10 million to saving right whales, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Tuesday. Nearly $7 million of that will support the development of ropeless gear by providing funds to fishing industry members to assess and provide feedback on the technology, the agency said.

Lobster fishing is typically performed with traps on the ocean bottom that are connected to the surface via a vertical line. In ropeless fishing methods, fishermen use systems such an inflatable lift bag that brings the trap to the surface.

“It’s imperative we advance our collective actions to help recover this species, and these partnerships will help the science and conservation community do just that," said Janet Coit, the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

The funding also includes a little less than $3 million to support efforts to improve modeling and monitoring efforts about right whales. Duke University's Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab will receive more than $1.3 million to build a nearly real-time modeling system to try to help predict the distribution of right whales along the East Coast, NOAA officials said.

Several right whales have died this year, and some have shown evidence of entanglement in fishing rope. Coit described the species as “approaching extinction” and said there are fewer than 70 reproductively active females.

The whales migrate every year from calving grounds off Florida and Georgia to feeding grounds off New England and Canada. Scientists have said warming ocean waters have put the whales at risk because they have strayed from protected areas of ocean in search of food.

Commercial fishermen are subject to numerous laws designed to protect the whales and conserve the lobster population, and more rules are on the way. Some fishermen have expressed skepticism about the feasibility of ropeless gear while others have worked with government agencies to test it.