Lobster fishermen are worried that federal regulations, proposed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale from entanglement in fishing gear, could put the industry out of business.
Conservationists worry the whale won’t survive much longer, given increased concerns about gear entanglement and ship strikes.
The National Marine Fisheries Service an agency that’s part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is responsible for overseeing fishing in federal waters is in the midst of holding hearings on proposed modifications to the federal government’s “Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.”
Proposed changes aim to reduce entanglement in trap and pot fisheries for right whales, as well as humpback and finback whales, in order to reduce death and serious injury in accordance with two federal fishery laws, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Unnecessary Seal Harassment sandiegoreader.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sandiegoreader.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As the nearly year-long COVID-19 pandemic that has left North Carolinians exhausted and often demoralized grinds on, Bobby Hanig wants to lighten things up.
“Sometimes you just need a feel-good bill,” said the N.C. House Republican from the northeast corner of the state.
Hanig has re-introduced his bill that would see the bottlenose dolphin named the state’s official marine mammal.
“I’ve lived on the coast my whole life, and there’s nothing more down to earth that really gives you a full understating of what we have than when you’re just walking on the beach or surfing and you see dolphins,” he said. “Then you know it’s a good day, and all you have to do is watch to see how people, locals and tourists, love seeing them.