A congressional funding bill contains $30 million for research and monitoring related to the North Atlantic right whale, an endangered species closely tied to the regulation of the lobster industry in Maine and other New England states.
The money is designated for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which oversees state-regulated fisheries.
North Atlantic right whales are one of the world’s most at-risk species, approaching extinction. Threats include entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes and climate change.
The money is part of the fiscal year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill that passed the U.S. Senate last week, previously approved by the House of Representatives and now heading to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
“This funding will support Maine’s lobster industry by improving the incomplete and imprecise science and research upon which the federal government relies,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the appropriations committee.
Monitoring Boomerang (the whale)
There are approximately 380 right whales remaining, including about 70 reproductively active females, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Researchers have identified 15 calves so far during the 2026 calving season, which began mid-November and will run through mid-April.
Researchers assign names to whales that have a unique physical feature or a strong story in connection to a community or habitat where they were seen. Mothers that have calved since December include Boomerang.
On Jan. 1, an aerial survey team from Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute saw Boomerang and her new calf off Florida. She was last seen on December 20 without a calf, making the baby less than two weeks old when it was spotted. Boomerang is 31 years old and this is her fifth known calf. She was named for the boomerang-shaped white scar on the underside of her fluke. She last gave birth in 2019 to a male calf who has been seen as recently as 2025.
In December, other Clearwater sightings included Juno and her ninth known calf and Binary and her fourth known calf, both off Georgia; and Mantis and her eighth known calf and Uca and her second known calf, both off South Carolina.
Twenty newborns in a calving season would be considered a relatively productive year.
However, given the estimated rate of human-caused mortality and serious injury, it’s estimated that approximately 50 or more calves per year for many years would be needed to stop the population decline and allow for recovery. The only solution is to significantly reduce human-caused mortality and injuries, as well as stressors on reproduction, NOAA says.
Ropeless gear
The federal government has been investing in the development of technologies to improve fishing gear and population monitoring.
In 2023, that included $82 million for technologies to reduce the risk of vessel strikes, increase the use of on-demand fishing gear and improve enforcement of federal regulations; and $17.2 million allocated to the Maine Department of Marine Resources to improve data collection on the whale.
In 2024, another $6.9 million went to support the development of on-demand, or “ropeless,” fishing gear.
Over 85% of right whales have gotten tangled in fishing gear at least once in their lifetimes, according to NOAA.
The latest round of testing of on-demand fishing gear is scheduled to begin Feb. 1 off Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
A gear research team from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Mass., is collaborating with 23 commercial lobster vessels this year, in certain restricted areas, to test on-demand gear, also called ropeless gear, in state and federal waters. Typically, lobster and Jonah crab fishing uses vertical lines that reach from the sea bottom to the surface.
The ropeless fishery will occur between Feb. 1 and April 30. The traps will not be visible at the surface since it has no surface buoys. They are detectable on the sea floor through digital applications.
Outside of the restricted area, on-demand gear is being tested year-round by approximately 50 vessels across New England.
The gear is fitted in hybrid configurations, with standard surface gear on one end and on-demand gear on the other end. The Maine Department of Marine Resources and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries are also operating on-demand gear trials.
The short-term goal is to work with industry partners to support the deployment of on-demand systems in circumstances that minimize the potential for gear conflict while allowing fishing to continue, according to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
“Ultimately, for on-demand fishing gear to meet conservation goals for marine mammals and to support fishing on a large scale, it must move beyond an experimental stage,” the center said. “We are committed to working with fishery management authorities to consider the regulatory changes needed to allow fishermen to use on-demand fishing gear if they want to.”
Research programs
The FY 2026 bill also includes $2 million for Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank American lobster research through Maine Sea Grant.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd district, recently voted to advance appropriations bills that included $1 million to fund the American Lobster Settlement Index Maine Collector Survey, which would support staffing, equipment and supplies to expand monitoring of the health of juvenile lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine.