March 20, 2018 — As NOAA Fisheries continues to address the rising peril to whales in coastal waters stretching from New England to Florida, it is reminding local fishermen of current or impending gear closures off Massachusetts.
The closures, primarily around Cape Cod and in Cape Cod Bay, are part of NOAA Fisheries’ Atlantic large whale take reduction plan developed to provide increased protection to several species of whales — particularly the endangered North Atlantic right whales whose population continues to plummet.
Some of the gear closures impact trap and pot fishermen, while other impact gillnetters.
The closures have been greatly enlarged as part of a 2015 amendment to the large whale take reduction plan, according to Mike Asaro, the Gloucester-based marine mammal and sea turtle branch chief for NOAA Fisheries.
“The Cape Cod Bay closure has been greatly expanded northward and out beyond the outer Cape toward Nantucket,” Asaro said.
The closest closure to Cape Ann is the Massachusetts Restricted Area that encircles Cape Cod, with its northwest corner approaching the southern end of Cape Ann. The area is closed to all trap and pot fishing until April 30.
The Great South Channel restricted area, which sits to the east and southeast of Cape Cod, will be closed to all trap and pot fishing from April 30 until June 30. The Great South Channel also will be closed to all gillnetting during the same time.
Gillnetters also will be prohibited from fishing in the Cape Cod Bay restricted area until May 15.
Asaro said the closures are just one element in NOAA Fisheries’ strategy for mitigating dangers to the whales from gear and other man-made obstacles in the ocean’s waters.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Times