PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 8, 2022
A federal court ruled Friday that federal regulators violated both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act with new regulations that failed to adequately reduce the lobster fishery’s threat to the North Atlantic right whale. The ruling is the culmination of more than four years of litigation, and it represents a huge win for environmental groups fighting to protect the critically endangered whale. In his 43-page ruling, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg placed blame for the rapidly dwindling number of whales at the feet of the lobster industry.