PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   Interstate fishing managers are starting the process of trying to reduce the amount of lobster fishing gear off the East Coast in an attempt to help save a declining species of rare whale.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announced on Wednesday that it will consider options designed to reduce vertical lobster fishing lines in the water by as much as 40 percent. The lines pose a threat to the North Atlantic right whale, which is one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

The commission says it will try to reduce the amount of gear with a combination of trap limits, seasonal closures, lobster trap reductions and other methods. The rules are under development and will take months.

Some lobster fishermen say they need more details before they support the effort.