"PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s congressional delegation and governor said Wednesday that the state’s lobster fishermen need more time to comply with new rules designed to protect rare whales.
The rules are designed to protect North Atlantic right whales, which number less than 340 and are vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. The federal government is using the rules to impose new restrictions on when lobster fishermen can fish and what kinds of gear they can use.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills and the four-member congressional delegation said one of the rules, which requires weak points in lobster lines, is essentially impossible for fishermen to comply with at this time. The rules call for gear conversion by May 1, but the new gear isn’t available to most fishermen, they said.
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Patrick Whittle reports for the Associated Press March 30, 2022.
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