The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing a rule under the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP or Plan) to reduce the risk of North Atlantic right whale entanglement in commercial trap/pot fisheries along the U.S. East Coast. The proposed rule would modify the boundaries of the Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) to include a 200 square miles area known as the MRA Wedge to fill a gap in protections that occurs during the implementation of the current closure in Federal waters from February through April every year. This small gap area was inadvertently created by a 2021 modification to an existing MRA seasonal closure to buoy lines which mirrored a state water closure enacted by Massachusetts in early 2021. The resultant gap within the MRA created an opportunity for federally permitted vessels to fish or store buoyed trap gear in the MRA Wedge at great risk of incidental mortality and serious injury of North Atlantic right whales that are seasonally abundant in surrounding waters. Empirical gear and whale sightings collected during aerial surveys of the MRA Wedge during February-April demonstrate the high entanglement risk to right whales in this area. No novel management measures or policies are proposed; this Wedge area was closed through emergency rulemaking in 2021 and 2022, and this rule proposes to permanently implement a small expansion of an existing three-month seasonal restriction to fishing with buoy lines.