Mills Calls On Feds To Delay Lobster Gear Rule To Reduce Industry Losses

In a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Governor Janet Mills is condemning new federal rules for lobstermen that aim to protect endangered whales from entanglement in fishing gear. And she's calling for a delay in a gear-marking requirement she says could cost the industry more than $30 million over the next year. The new federal rules include a requirement that lobstermen who set traps in federal waters put green markings on their trap-rope. That's to help identify the source of gear that's removed from entangled whales. But it creates a new cost — in time and money.