Maine Lobster Gear Linked To Dead Endangered Whale, Upending Industry Narrative

"Now that the Maine lobster industry finally has to mark its gear, it can no longer hide the truth," one environmentalist said.

For the first time, federal regulators have connected Maine’s signature lobster industry to the entanglement and death of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The animal, a 3-year-old female calf, was found washed ashore in late January on Martha’s Vineyard, off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with rope wrapped around and embedded in its tail — the result of what a preliminary investigation described as “chronic entanglement.” The National Marine Fisheries Service, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on Wednesday confirmed that the rope had distinct markings used by Maine trap fishermen but stopped short of explicitly stating that the gear caused the whale’s death.

“Based upon our analysis of the gear, including the purple markings on the rope recovered from North Atlantic right whale #5120, NOAA Fisheries has concluded that the rope is consistent with the rope used in Maine state water trap/pot buoy lines,” the agency said.

It is the first time gear from Maine’s fishery has been connected to a right whale fatality. The finding threatens to upend one of the main talking points that the lobster industry and Maine lawmakers have used to fight stricter regulations: that there have been no documented cases of a right whale dying after becoming entangled in Maine lobster gear.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said it was “deeply saddened” by Wednesday’s news.