Current:Home > MarketsFeds announce funding push for ropeless fishing gear that spares rare whales-LoTradeCoin
Feds announce funding push for ropeless fishing gear that spares rare whales
View Date:2024-12-23 22:59:25
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New efforts to convert some types of commercial fishing to ropeless gear that is safer for rare whales will be supported by millions of dollars in funding, federal authorities said.
Federal fishing managers are promoting the use of ropeless gear in the lobster and crab fishing industries because of the plight of North Atlantic right whales. The whales number less than 360, and they face existential threats from entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with large ships.
The federal government is committing nearly $10 million to saving right whales, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Tuesday. Nearly $7 million of that will support the development of ropeless gear by providing funds to fishing industry members to assess and provide feedback on the technology, the agency said.
Lobster fishing is typically performed with traps on the ocean bottom that are connected to the surface via a vertical line. In ropeless fishing methods, fishermen use systems such an inflatable lift bag that brings the trap to the surface.
“It’s imperative we advance our collective actions to help recover this species, and these partnerships will help the science and conservation community do just that,” said Janet Coit, the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.
The funding also includes a little less than $3 million to support efforts to improve modeling and monitoring efforts about right whales. Duke University’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab will receive more than $1.3 million to build a nearly real-time modeling system to try to help predict the distribution of right whales along the East Coast, NOAA officials said.
Several right whales have died this year, and some have shown evidence of entanglement in fishing rope. Coit described the species as “approaching extinction” and said there are fewer than 70 reproductively active females.
The whales migrate every year from calving grounds off Florida and Georgia to feeding grounds off New England and Canada. Scientists have said warming ocean waters have put the whales at risk because they have strayed from protected areas of ocean in search of food.
Commercial fishermen are subject to numerous laws designed to protect the whales and conserve the lobster population, and more rules are on the way. Some fishermen have expressed skepticism about the feasibility of ropeless gear while others have worked with government agencies to test it.
veryGood! (9641)
Related
- GreenBox Systems will spend $144 million to build an automated warehouse in Georgia
- Zayn Malik Shares Daughter Khai's Sweet Reaction to Learning He's a Singer
- Illegal crossings at U.S.-Mexico border fall to 3-year low, the lowest level under Biden
- Sotomayor’s dissent: A president should not be a ‘king above the law’
- Man killed in Tuskegee University shooting in Alabama is identified. 16 others were hurt
- Maryland hikes vehicle registration fees and tobacco taxes
- Whitney Port Reveals How She Changed Her Eating Habits After Weight Concerns
- NHL reinstates Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac and Joel Quenneville after Blackhawks scandal
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Good Try (Freestyle)
- Sen. Bob Menendez’s defense begins with sister testifying about family tradition of storing cash
Ranking
- Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Are All Smiles In Rare Public Outing
- NHL teams cut ties with four players charged in 2018 sexual assault case
- All-Star Paul George set to join 76ers on a $212 million free-agent deal, AP source says
- Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden loses bid for state high court reconsideration in NFL emails lawsuit
- Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
- The Bears are letting Simone Biles' husband skip some training camp to go to Olympics
- Iran to hold presidential runoff election between reformist Pezeshkian and hard-liner Jalili
- 'Now or never': Bruce Bochy's Texas Rangers in danger zone for World Series defense
Recommendation
-
Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
-
Wildfire forces Alaska’s Denali National Park to temporarily close entrance
-
Florida man admits to shooting at Walmart delivery drone, damaging payload
-
Campaign to get new political mapmaking system on Ohio’s ballot submits more than 700,000 signatures
-
Mark Zuckerberg Records NSFW Song Get Low for Priscilla Chan on Anniversary
-
How Michael Phelps Adjusted His Eating Habits After His 10,000-Calorie Diet
-
What to know about the plea deal offered Boeing in connection with 2 plane crashes
-
Voters kick all the Republican women out of the South Carolina Senate