REPUBLICAN JOURNAL • December 23, 2020
Conservation Law Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States and Center for Biological Diversity have submitted an emergency petition to the United States National Marine Fisheries Service to halt lobster pot and gillnet fishing in an area off the coast of Massachusetts to “provide meaningful protection from one of the most significant threats to the North Atlantic right whale.“ It also calls for “ropeless” fishing in areas it is proposing for closure. A press release against the petition issued jointly by Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden states that such technology is not financially feasible for commercial fishermen.