PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s governor said Tuesday the federal government is moving ahead too quickly with potential new restrictions on the lobster fishing industry, and isn’t taking the industry’s concerns about the changes into account.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently announced it was seeking input on new rules to reduce risk to rare whales. The North Atlantic right whales number less than 340 and they are vulnerable to entanglement in lobster fishing gear.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said the agency’s plan to provide only one chance for public comment about the new rules later this month is not sufficient. She wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who oversees NOAA, that lack of input from fishermen will put coastal industries and communities at risk.
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