As the hard-hit Massachusetts fishing industry works to get back on its feet from the pandemic, the state Division of Marine Fisheries announced last week the release of another $23.8 million in CARES act money to assist with recovery efforts.
State fishing regulators overwhelmingly approved a first-of-its-kind seasonal lobstering ban to protect the North Atlantic right whale on Thursday — but exempted Vineyard.
With the North Atlantic right whale population at a dangerously low ebb, the state Division of Marine Fisheries is proposing a statewide seasonal ban on lobstering.
After a slow start to the summer, the state Division of Marine Fisheries has proposed extensions to the commercial striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder seasons, hoping to add additional fishing days and adjust catch limits for fishermen as fall approaches.
On Thursday, officials from the state Division of Marine Fisheries division traveled to the Vineyard to hold a public hearing and announced that the regulations to the recreational fisheries were essentially set in stone.
Martha’s Vineyard commercial fishermen let the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries know what they think of proposed rule updates and new regulations that would affect the Island fishing industry.