, the state’s lobster fishery will have much longer to comply with federal rules aimed at reducing the risks to the endangered North Atlantic right whale population. The amendment would give the National Marine Fisheries Service until 2028 to issue new rules aimed at reducing right whale injuries and deaths from entanglements in lobster gear.
It seems an odd coincidence that protections for the the right whale population should be taken away less than a week after the Maine House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham said that while he’s pleased with the new proposal, he’s not sure even six years will be enough time to produce new right whale protections that satisfy both federal officials and the Maine lobster industry. He believes that at the end of the next six years, the Maine fishery will successfully prove that there’s no need for additional risk reductions at all.
Beyond setting a new six-year timeline for additional regulations, the proposal also includes at least $40 million to research and implement new gear and fishing techniques. It deems that current federal rules on right whale protections are sufficient through 2028.