BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 14, 2022
A federal judge ruled last week that fisheries regulators are not doing enough to protect North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species, from fishing gear used by New England’s lobster and crab fisheries. The ruling – and the changes that it might compel – are another blow to Maine’s lobster industry. But, more, it is a condemnation of the National Marine Fisheries Services plans to protect the whales. Both conservation groups and fisheries organizations have called the biological opinion that was rejected last week flawed and asked that it be scrapped – for very different reasons. The judge recognized the harm that more stringent restrictions could have on the lobster industry. That, he wrote, is why he asked the parties to work together to come up with more protective solutions.