MAINE PUBLIC • June 5, 2023
The Maine lobster industry scored a major victory last month, when a federal appeals court ruled that the scientific assumptions used to regulate fishing and protect endangered North Atlantic right whales went too far. That means the status quo for Maine fishermen should remain for several more years. "The gear markings, weak links and other steps the fishery has taken in attempt to reduce entanglement risks will stay in place for the foreseeable future," says Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen's Association. The industry will now wait for the federal government to make new scientific models. Conservation groups have argued the right whale population will decline rapidly if additional measures aren't taken within the next five years.