Maine's Congressional delegation is again calling on federal regulators to postpone a deadline for lobstermen to convert their gear to reduce the risk it will entangle endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Starting on May 1, most of Maine's fleet is supposed to have adopted weak rope or installed weak plastic links in their trap-rope that will make it easier for whales to break through without injury or death.
But the gear is still relatively novel, and scarce, lobstermen say. While manufacturers and middlemen in Maine and elsewhere are trying to ramp up production, progress has been slow - and one shipment of plastic links had to be recalled.
In a new letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, who has final authority over fisheries, the delegation and Gov. Janet Mills call for a two-month delay in the rule's effective date.
Previous requests by the delegation have not succeeded. This time they are bolstering their case with a letter of support from the Small Business administration's Advocacy office, which says the deadline puts lobstermen ‘in an impossible scenario.'