Emergency Restricted Area for the Trap/Pot Fishery: Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge

NOAA Fisheries is extending a temporary emergency rule to prohibit trap/pot fishery buoy lines between federal and state waters within the Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) from February through April 2023 to reduce the incidental mortality and serious injury of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in commercial lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot fisheries. This emergency rule extension is necessary to reduce the risk of right whale mortality and serious injury caused by buoy lines in an area with a high co-occurrence of whales and buoy lines.

This area was also restricted in April 2022.