MAINE PUBLIC • April 9, 2020
A federal judge ruled Thursday that federal fisheries regulators are illegally allowing lobster traps that pose a threat to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. U.S. District Judge James Boasburg says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration violated the Endangered Species Act by authorizing the lobster fishery without appropriate attention to its impact on the whales. Maine's Department of Marine Resources had no immediate comment. Gov. Janet Mills called the decision "deeply disturbing" and says she is instructing Marine Resources Commissioner Pat Keliher to investigate and respond "in the coming days."