lobster fishery

Gubernatorial candidates Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, former Gov. Paul LePage, and Independent Sam Hunkler at a debate hosted by Maine Public and the Portland Press Herald on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, at the Franco Center in Lewiston, Maine.

Politics

Fact checking Maine political ads leading up to Election Day

Steve Mistler

With less than a month until Election Day, here are several recent ads that might grab voters’ attention, but that need some additional facts or a dose of reality.

North Atlantic Right Whale entangled in lobster gear

Environment and Outdoors

U.S. judge says feds are failing to protect endangered right whales from lobster gear entanglement

Fred Bever

A federal judge ruled Friday that federal fisheries regulators are violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to adequately protect North Atlantic right whales from potentially deadly entanglements in fishing gear, including the rope used by Maine's lobster fleet.

Environment and Outdoors

Lobster fishermen who harvest federal waters will be required to install electronic trackers on their boats

Fred Bever

The trackers will ping a central data base once a minute, but many details about individual boats' movements will be kept confidential.

FILE- In this Sept. 21, 2020 file photo, a sternman checks a lobster while fishing off South Portland, Maine. The Maine Department of Marine Resources said Wednesday fishermen caught more than 96 million pounds of lobsters in 2020.

Environment and Outdoors

Maine's delegation again calls on federal regulators to delay gear deadline for lobstermen

Fred Bever

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.

Business and Economy

$30 million relief fund for lobstermen gets initial nod in Maine House

Kevin Miller

Lawmakers in the Maine House gave initial approval Thursday to a $30 million fund to help lobstermen comply with new federal regulations aimed at protecting endangered whales.

Environment and Outdoors

Regulators say new whale-protection rules for Maine's lobster fleet are on the horizon

Fred Bever

Federal regulators said they will soon start a process to create new whale-protection rules for Maine's lobster fleet that will go beyond the controversial regulations going into effect on May 1.

This Dec. 2, 2021, photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources shows an endangered North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing rope being sighted with a newborn calf in waters near Cumberland Island, Ga.

Environment and Outdoors

Local right whale advocates say they feel sidelined by the powerful Maine lobster industry

Fred Bever

In the fight over right whale protection rules, Maine lobstermen feel outgunned by national conservation groups. But here in Maine, local whale advocates say they can’t get a word in.

Lobster fishing boats head out to haul traps, Thursday, July 30, 2020, off Portland, Maine. The coronavirus pandemic has reduced demand for the crustaceans, forcing the price of lobster to drop well below last year's level. More than 100 million pounds of lobster were landed in 2019.

Business and Economy

Regulators hold off on requiring lobstermen to install electronic trackers on their boats

Fred Bever

Members of the American Lobster Management Board Tuesday considered a raft of industry concerns about the technology's purposes, its cost, and data-privacy, and then decided to take more time to evaluate the issues.

Business and Economy

Push to create a legal defense fund for Maine's lobster industry faces hurdles

Fred Bever

The Department of Marine Resources opposes the legislative proposal, and on Tuesday a majority of members of a key committee voted against it as well.

FILE — Lobster fishing boats head out to sea on a foggy morning, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, off South Portland, Maine. Lobstermen are going to have to begin using special rope or inserts to weaken existing rope starting in May of 2022 in some waters to help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has received numerous complaints that there isn't a sufficient supply of approved ropes or weak links, a spokesperson told the Bangor Daily News.

Environment and Outdoors

Maine delegation, lobstermen ask feds to postpone whale protection rules, citing rope shortage

Fred Bever

Maine lobstermen say there's a critical shortage of specialized trap-gear they need to comply with new federal whale protection rules that go into effect this spring. The industry and Maine political leaders are asking the feds to postpone the deadline by two months. But some gear-makers and suppliers say they can make it available, if only someone would order it.