Photo courtesy of the Center for Coastal Studies
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A group of Massachusetts lobster fishers has sued the federal government over an emergency closure of fishing grounds that is designed to protect a vanishing species of whale.
The closure, enacted Feb. 1, blocked off about 200 square miles of Massachusetts Bay from lobster fishing until the end of April.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the closure was necessary to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in fishing rope.
The whales number only about 340 in the world and return to the waters off New England every spring. But the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association contends the closure is illegal and will cause economic harm to the industry.
By PATRICK WHITTLE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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