PORTLAND, Maine (October 17, 2008) — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe says plans to cut the number of days that groundfishing boats are permitted to spend at sea next year "would be a death knell" for New England’s fishing industry.
"The horizon before us is ominous," the Maine Republican warned Tuesday at a field hearing before the Senate subcommittee on oceans, atmospheres, fisheries and the Coast Guard.
Boats already are restricted to 48 days of fishing a year in order to help rebuild depleted fish stocks, and Snowe said rules that could bring additional cuts might "regulate our nation’s first fishery out of existence."
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