36 Proceedings Summer 2025 consumers may be willing to pay more for lobster caught using on-demand technology, providing those consum- ers with a certification is a powerful market incentive for fishers to voluntarily substitute their traditional gear for on-demand.26 Economists have studied people’s willing- ness to spend money to protect “charismatic megafauna” such as whales since the 1970s.27 Certification schemes, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Forest Stewardship Council, empower consumers to make informed choices by providing a “guarantee” their product was sustainably harvested.28 The dolphin-safe certification program could serve as a model for a future on-demand fishing gear certification. In the 1980s, dolphins were often unfortunate bycatch victims in the eastern Pacific Ocean yellowfin tuna fish- ery. For reasons still unknown, tuna are often found directly below dolphin pods in the water column, so fishers would use purse seine nets to encircle dolphin pods in hopes of catching the tuna below.29 After biol- ogist Samuel LaBudde secretly filmed these practices in an undercover operation on behalf two nonprofits, airing the footage on television and testifying before Congress, consumers boycotted tuna, leading industry to develop dolphin-safe fishing practices. To deter fraud- ulent labeling, Congress passed the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act in 1990, which codifies strict labeling requirements, including use of fishery observers onboard vessels to ensure compliance, and a penalty of up to $100,000 for each mislabeling offense. While other certification programs have had limited success, at least in the United States, the dolphin-safe cer- tification and labeling, in conjunction with other bycatch reduction efforts, has led to a 99% decrease in dolphin net entanglement.30 Unlike MSC and other certifications which are overseen by industry, the dolphin-safe certi- fication is enforced by NOAA Fisheries, a U.S. federal agency.31, 32 Moreover, while the scope of MSC is broad, covering many global fisheries, the dolphin-safe certifi- cation within the United States is narrow, making it more manageable to govern. Any on-demand gear certifica- tion, therefore, modeled on the dolphin-free certifica- tion should be limited to U.S. fisheries and should be enforced through NOAA Fisheries with large penalties for fraudulent labeling. Voluntary Contribution Program for Commercial and Recreational Mariners In addition to a certification option, policymakers should look to expanding the participation of other actors that share the same physical spaces as lobster fishers, namely other mariners. Recreational and commercial mariners may also have a strong interest in promoting the sub- stitution of traditional lobster traps for on-demand or ropeless technology. Just as whales may get entangled in the vertical lines of lobster traps, so do vessel propel- lers. Vessels that inadvertently run over marine debris such as seaweed or fishing lines can suffer prop fouls. These, at the very least, can be inconvenient to mari- ners who need to untangle the hazard from their prop, shaft, or rudders.33 At worst, the entanglement can cause monetary damage or disable the vessel, leaving its pas- sengers stranded at sea.34 While statistics on the overall frequency of prop fouls is unavailable, the instances are so ubiquitous amongst the boating community that it has prompted a new market for installed propellor line and net cutting systems.35 It stands to reason that any mariner who has experienced a prop foul would have a strong incentive to help decrease the overall number of hazards, like vertical fishing lines going to lobster pots. It is also worth mentioning that mariners forced to cut entangled fishing lines inadvertently contribute to the problem of ghost gear and present an economic loss to fishers. Leaving fishers no way to retrieve their lobster pots, the lost fishing, or “ghost,” gear will continue to trap and kill marine wildlife on the ocean floor. Boat owners and operators must register their ves- sels in compliance with state and federal laws, typically on a semiannual basis. If not federally registered with the Coast Guard, boat owners operating all recreational and commercial vessels are required to register and renew their registrations with the state.36, 37, 38 Offering the option to make a voluntary donation upon regis- tration renewal could help supplement the cost to fish- ers purchasing new gear using on-demand technology. This voluntary donation would mirror what many state Department of Motor Vehicles offices facilitate for people registering their motor vehicles. For example, the state of Florida offers its residents “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” personalized license plates for an extra $20 upon initial registration.39 According to their website, the proceeds from these voluntary contri- butions “serve as the primary source of funding” for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Sea Turtle Program, which manages permitting for coastal construction and protection of turtle nesting sites, among other things.40 Additionally, proceeds fund a Sea Turtle Grants Program that awards more than $300,000 annually to coastal county governments, educational institutions, and nonprofit groups for turtle research, conservation, and educational programs. Conclusion Intervention attempts may prove too late to save the North Atlantic right whale population, which arguably never fully recovered from the 19th century’s whaling industry and continues to be threatened by additional factors such as vessel strikes, ocean noise, and rising ocean temperatures. However, innovations in fishing
