Maine politicians oppose new push for lobster gear regulations
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) -Maine’s congressional leaders are opposing a new push for regulations on Maine lobster fishing.
Senators Collins and King and Representatives Golden and Pingree responded to the introduction of the so-called “RESCUE Whales Act” introduced by Arizona representative Raul Grijalva.
The bill would repeal the six-year pause on lobster gear regulations designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the whales are vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear.
The Maine politicians say the rules are based on “conjecture” and “would have devastated the lobster fishery.”
They say the pause provides time to find the true cause of the declining right whale population.
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