Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.
Since the start of the year, four North Atlantic Right Whales have been injured after getting entangled in fishing rope off the U.S. East Coast, according to government data, including one in North Carolina filmed trailing a pair of lobster traps., making it the second biggest cause of death behind strikes from boats and ships, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Washington and Ottawa are now promoting ropeless fishing as a possible long-term solution. Traditional lobster fishing uses traps that sink to the ocean floor and are connected by a rope to a buoy floating at the surface. Ropeless gear, by contrast, only deploys a rope and buoy to the surface when its owner activates a release trigger by remote control.
“I suppose there are lobstermen that would go ahead and do it and would invest the money. But I think it would be the end of Maine lobstering as we know it,” said Weber.