February 3, 2024 — A new series of testing ropeless lobster gear got underway Feb. 1 in waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a cooperative effort with up to 30 commercial lobster crews working with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
The fishermen are testing on-demand (also called ropeless) fishing gear in state and federal waters that are otherwise closed to lobster and Jonah crab fishing with static vertical lines, seasonal closures aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales from danger of entanglement.
“Participating vessels will fish trap trawls without any surface gear marks in the ‘potential on-demand testing areas.’ The fixed gear involved in this research will not be visible at the surface since it has no surface buoys,” according to a NEFSC advisory.