NOAA Right Whale discovered dead off of Martha's Vineyard appears to have been caused by lobster line from Maine State waters

For many years Maine lobster fishermen have maintained that their gear is not involved in right whale entanglements. Nevertheless, many scientists believed that this had more to do with cryptic entanglements in which very few entanglements are observed and thus there would not be an opportunity to study from where the entangling gear originated. The industry has aggressively argued that its gear is not involved in entanglements, and Congressional members such as Susan Collins stalled NOAA's attempts to implement regulatory reforms with support from Maine Governor Janet Mills (see https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-announces-more-…).

Despite the determination by NOAA scientists that Maine inshore lobster gear (lines) is responsible for the death of this right whale off Martha's Vineyard, you can anticipate some push back and spin from the industry about this finding.