That is a large number, given there are fewer than 350 North Atlantic Right Whales remaining, including just 70 breeding females, say regulators, researchers and conservationists. North Atlantic Right Whales who live off the eastern North American coast stretching from Florida to the Canadian Maritimes provinces are now on the verge of extinction. 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. When the 2,100 square-kilometer zones are shut, only harvesters with ropeless gear are allowed to fish there, Gilchrist said.

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Persons: Matt Weber, lobsterman, Lauren Owens Lambert, ”, Charles Mayo, Rob Morris, “ We’re, Edgetech, lobsterman Kyle Murdock, Weber, Brett Gilchrist, Gilchrist, “, Michael Moore, Lawrence, Richard Valdmanis, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Seafood Watch, Atlantic, U.S ., Atlantic Right Whales, National Oceanographic, Atmospheric Administration, Whales, Canadian, Center for Coastal Studies, NOAA, Canada’s Fisheries, Reuters, Fisheries, Oceans, Oceanographic, Thomson Locations: Monhegan, Maine, U.S, MONHEGAN, Monterey, U.S . East Coast, North Carolina, Florida, Cape Cod , Massachusetts, ” Washington, Ottawa, England, Massachusetts, Canada’s Gulf, St, Lawrence, Fundy, Oceans Canada, Gulf