September 19, 2022 — Every few months, news outlets around the country pick up stories about Maine fishermen hauling in extremely rare blue, yellow, white or even bi-colored lobster.

Just as rare here is the anti-lobster politician, although recent campaign rhetoric would have you believe they’re in our midst and working to undercut a signature industry facing regulatory and political threats. And that’s led politicians running for reelection this year to redouble their stated loyalty to lobster.

“Like everyone in the state of Maine, like all four members of the congressional delegation, I am livid at this unwise decision,” Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said last week in denouncing the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “red listing” of Maine lobster on its influential Seafood Watch list.

Echoing Sen. Angus King’s dismissal of the aquarium as a “fish zoo,” Mills said the designation wouldn’t protect endangered North Atlantic right whales but would merely “insult thousands of hardworking lobstermen who risk their lives to put food on the table and practice responsible stewardship.”

Like coal in West Virginia or corn in Iowa, the lobster industry is an economic and political powerhouse in Maine.

Although there are only about 6,000 licensed commercial lobstermen in Maine, the $725 million worth of crustaceans they pulled in last year make theirs the most valuable single fishery in the nation. Factor in the estimated $1 billion spent on bait and gear, plus the countless lobster rolls and dinners served up by the state’s $3 billion restaurant industry, and the industry’s economic impact quickly adds up.

So it’s not surprising that Maine’s elected leaders would rush to the defense of the industry while blaming ship strikes and lesser-regulated Canadian fisheries for the recent spate of whale deaths. Biologists and whale advocates have, in response, often felt ignored in Maine. They point out that only a fraction of the rope and gear found wrapped around or embedded in whales can be traced back to any specific fishery.

But the industry is bracing for additional restrictions. And Republicans, sensing a political liability across the aisle, have been accusing Mills and other Democrats of undermining lobstermen.

“Maine Democrats, including Janet Mills, took dirty anti-lobster campaign contributions and support — and now they’re crying crocodile tears,” Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine GOP, said in a statement last week. “The Democrats’ lefty environmental groups are the only reason our iconic lobster industry is in this mess. The anti-lobster crowd spent more than $1 million getting Janet Mills elected in 2018, and she has never disavowed their support or returned any money.”

A little context could be useful here.

Those “lefty environmental groups” include Maine Conservation Voters and the national League of Conservation Voters that helps fund the state affiliate. MCV endorsed Mills in 2018 and helped raise money for her campaign.

But it’s a major stretch to describe those groups, and particularly Maine Conservation Voters, as “anti-lobster” given their focus on a broad range of environmental issues. MCV, for instance, has not supported the additional restrictions on lobstermen and has not included votes on any lobster-related bills in their annual legislative “scorecards” of state lawmakers during the past decade. In fact, the group is a vocal advocate for funding the Land for Maine’s Future program, which has protected more than two dozen commercial working waterfront sites used by the fishing industry.

Read the full article at Maine Public