Maine's bluefin tuna fishermen are expected to show up in force to protest new federal quotas on the fishery at a public hearing in Portland April 25.
The hearing, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Holiday Inn by the Bay at 88 Spring St., is seeking comments on the most stringent catch limits the National Marine Fisheries Service has ever proposed for the large fish. The season opens June 1.
New England fishermen are protesting new rules they say are unfair to those who use sustainable fishing methods, such as rod and reel and harpoons, and favor the fishermen who use 30- to 40-mile longlines, which result in the discarding of tens of metric tons of dead bluefin tuna annually.
The New England fishermen have been joined by the Pew Environment Group in their protest.
Read the complete story from The Portland Press Herald.