Fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales remain. Of those, 85% have been entangled in fishing gear at least once. Photo credit: Brian Skerry
Just over two years ago, the body of a three-year-old North Atlantic right whale washed onto the shores of Martha’s Vineyard, hopelessly ensnarled in fishing line. She had succumbed to a common killer of critically endangered right whales: commercial fishing gear. Even if they survive the entanglement, the experience can leave whales weaker, smaller, more vulnerable to infection, and less likely to have babies.
“This death was completely preventable,” says CLF Senior Counsel Erica Fuller. “Fewer than 400 right whales are still alive.”
Fuller has been at the forefront of CLF’s nearly decade-long effort to solve this threat to right whales’ future. Traditional fishing gear uses long, stationary vertical lines to connect floating markers to traps on the seafloor. These lines form a lethal obstacle course for marine mammals. Alongside deadly strikes from ships and boats, entanglements in fishing gear are a leading cause of death for right whales.
CLF has long pushed for regulatory changes to help save this endangered species, but we know we need practical, on-the-ground solutions. Thankfully, a solution exists. Innovative “on-demand” fishing gear provides a viable alternative to traditional gear. These traps keep ropes stowed until fishermen call them to the surface, minimizing risk to whales.
In 2025, a record number of fishermen used on-demand fishing gear, setting the stage for wider adoption of this whale-saving invention when and where necessary. This milestone took nearly a decade of hard work, a few forward-looking lobstermen, a handful of visionary gear manufacturers, and a unique partnership of fishermen, the federal government, and environmental nonprofits.
Getting On-Demand Gear Ready for Primetime
CLF has shepherded its adoption in New England from the beginning. With key conservation partners, we began talking with fishermen, managers, scientists, and manufacturers to gauge their interest in a pilot project and to address fishermen’s concerns about using the new technology.
In 2020, we helped launch trials of on-demand fishing gear with a few fishermen who took the gear prototypes out on the open ocean to test them under real-world conditions. Along the way, they shared critical concerns about the gear’s cost, efficacy, and safety.
To help address those concerns, CLF contributed more than $200,000 to the development of a “Gear Lending Library” at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA) with support from the Binnacle Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation, and New England Biolabs, Inc. The Science Center and manufacturers provided valuable training and on-demand gear at no cost to interested fishermen. In return, the fishermen contributed invaluable data and feedback on how the gear could be improved. We continue to fund this collaborative effort.
“These partnerships have been essential to getting on-demand gear closer to prime time,” says Fuller.
2025: A Transformative Year for On-Demand Gear
Five years later, this experimentation and innovation is paying off in major ways. By 2025, the on-demand gear trial had expanded from those first few vessels to more than 70, operating in four different fisheries and five states. The Gear Lending Library has expanded dramatically, and fishermen have reported increased success using the gear.
CLF has also collaborated with fishermen, scientists, and engineers to significantly improve the gear design. We’ve donated gear to the Library from several U.S. and Canadian manufacturers, funded satellite communication units so fishermen can share important data in real time, and funded apps that will make fishing safer.
“When this work started, I worried I would see right whales go extinct in my lifetime,” says Fuller. “Now, I have hope that we might see right whales not just survive but thrive.”
Continuing the Fight to Protect Right Whales
Further progress will depend on the government removing regulatory obstacles and funding some part of the transition. The current federal administration isn’t taking action – but we’re not letting that stop us from making progress. CLF hopes that the regional fisheries councils and NOAA will continue their work to allow on-demand fishing gear without a special permit, allowing for greater adoption.
“There’s a limited window of time to save this critical endangered species,” says Fuller.
“Squilla,” the mother of the calf who washed up on Martha’s Vineyard, was spotted off the coast of South Carolina with her second baby in late 2025. Mama and calf might be making the treacherous journey back up the East Coast to their New England feeding grounds right now. With the adoption of on-demand gear still in progress, they still face a dangerous maze of ropes to navigate. CLF will keep working to eliminate those risky lines. Protecting these mothers and their calves from human-caused threats is the only way for this species to one day thrive.
