PORTLAND, Maine - A key ocean management panel has shot down a plan to try to preserve southern New England's lobster population with new fishing regulations.
An arm of the interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted against proposed new restrictions on Tuesday. Members of the panel say they don't feel the proposed measures would go far enough to rebuild the lobster population, which is suffering due to warming ocean temperatures.
The chairman of the commission's lobster board says the commission will try to figure out a new strategy to try to help stem the loss of lobsters. The decline has cratered the lobster industry in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.
The lobster catch remains strong in Maine, the biggest lobster-producing state.