April 1o, 2026 — Maine’s two U.S. senators are pushing back on federal efforts to make ropeless gear the centerpiece of North Atlantic right whale conservation, warning that forcing an unproven technology on the lobster fleet could devastate the fishery.
In a letter to Eugenio Piñero Soler, assistant administrator for fisheries at the National Marine Fisheries Service, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, urged the agency to take lobstermen’s concerns seriously and pursue flexible alternatives before pursuing any new rulemaking.
“A single, uniform solution, particularly one that mandates technology that is not yet proven at scale, is not the right path forward for this fishery or for the conservation goals we share,” the senators wrote.
The letter followed the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in early March, where Soler heard directly from lobstermen about the practical barriers to ropeless fishing. The senators echoed what they heard on the ground: small vessels don’t have the capital, deck space, crew, or familiarity with high-tech systems to absorb a forced transition. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has estimated that transition costs alone would run at least $45 million industry-wide.