TIMES RECORD • April 23, 2023
Jason Lord, a second-generation Midcoast lobsterman, said he understands the effort to save critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The problem, he contends, is lawmakers, government agencies and conservation groups have it wrong by targeting the Maine lobster industry, which has been forced to use breakaway trap lines and observe a seasonal no-fishing zone to protect the whales. no right whale deaths have ever been attributed to Maine lobster gear, according to Maine’s congressional delegation, which in December secured a six-year delay of additional regulations that could force the Maine lobster industry to use ropeless lobster traps. Lord, who is based out of New Harbor, said ropeless lobster traps aren’t advanced enough yet to be practical. “Do we need to put more battery-operated garbage in the ocean?” he asked.