Saving Seafood

MAINE: House advances bill to support lobster fishing industry

March 28, 2022 — The Maine House delivered a strong bipartisan vote Thursday to advance a measure sponsored by Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, that would provide direct relief funds to Maine’s lobster fishermen impacted by recent federal regulatory changes. The vote was 116-18.

Following the closure of approximately 1,000 square miles of federal waters off the coast of Maine, LD 1898 would establish the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Impact Fund to provide compensation for the immediate financial losses felt by lobster fishermen.

Read the full story at the Boothbay Register

 

$30 million fund to help lobstermen meet new rules gets strong support in Maine House

March 25, 2022 — A proposal to create a $30 million fund to help lobstermen comply with new federal requirements designed to protect endangered right whales received overwhelming and bipartisan support in the Maine House on Thursday.

Funding for the bill, sponsored by Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, would come from the state’s unallocated surplus and would help fishermen meet new federal requirements for fishing rope.

Those rules could cost the industry between $50 million and $80 million in lost revenue, additional gear, lost time and added labor, according to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. One lawmaker estimated the new rules would cost the average fisherman tens of thousands of dollars.

Stover said the relief fund is needed to protect Maine’s iconic and valuable lobster fishing industry, which has had to constantly adapt to evolving federal regulations to prevent endangered right whales from being entangled in ropes.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Committee puts off decision on $30M fund for Maine lobster fishers

February 9, 2022 — A Maine legislative committee on Tuesday put off its vote on a plan to create a $30 million fund to help fishermen cope with new fishing rules meant to protect whales.

The Maine lobster fishery is subject to new rules designed to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in gear. A bill proposed by Democratic Rep. Holly Stover would create the relief fund to help fishermen hurt economically by the new rules pay for expenses such as boat payments and gear.

Read the full story at the AP

Fishing industry, regulators back lobster fishing fund plan

February 1, 2022 — Members of Maine’s fishing industry and state regulators testified Tuesday in favor of the creation of a new $30 million fund to help lobster fishermen cope with new rules meant to protect whales.

Federal rules make an approximately 950-square-mile (2,460-square-kilometer) area of the Gulf of Maine essentially off limits to lobster fishing from October to January. A proposal from Democratic Rep. Holly Stover would create the fund to provide grants to lobstermen and other fishermen affected by the rules.

Read the full story at the Associated Press