PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 8, 2022
A bill that would set up a legal defense fund to help the Maine lobster industry fight a series of impending regulatory changes was met with mixed reaction from lawmakers and industry participants during a public hearing Tuesday. The Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee also tabled a vote on another bill that would create a $30 million economic relief fund for lobstermen, paid out of the state’s general fund. The push for legal and economic relief comes in advance of new federal rules that will require lobstermen in the Gulf of Maine to adopt special ropes and other equipment and techniques designed to reduce mortality risk to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.