Latest info on NOAA Lobstering Rules

The Latest Information on the NOAA Lobstering Rules

In August 2021, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued controversial new rules regarding a rectangular space in the Gulf of Maine. These rules were created to protect endangered North American right whales even though no one has ever seen these whales in this region of the ocean. Below are excerpts and stories about that decision.

  • Second Lobsterman Group Suing Biden Administration
    Following the suit filed recently by the Maine Lobstermens Association, the Maine Lobstering Union has filed a lawsuit to stop the implementation of the new NOAA rules in the Gulf of Maine. “On Monday, the Maine Lobstering Union announced it is filing a federal lawsuit to try to stop the impending closure of more than […]
  • Maine won’t sue over right whale restrictions, but isn’t giving up fight
    From the Portland Press Herald, 9/14/21 Maine won’t be suing federal regulators over new commercial lobstering restrictions intended to protect an endangered species of whale, but it isn’t giving up the fight entirely. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been advised against suing federal officials over a controversial new set of rules designed to […]
  • Statement from Maine’s Delegation in Washington, DC
    Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, and Governor Janet Mills issued this statement following the release of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule: “The Maine lobster fishery has repeatedly made significant improvements to their practices and modifications to their gear to protect right […]
  • Letter from Gov. Mills
    In Letter to Lobster Industry, Governor Mills Calls Right Whale Rule “Extremely Disappointing” & Pledges to Work with Maine’s Congressional Delegation to Fight It September 1, 2021 In the wake of yesterday’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule, Governor Janet Mills last night sent a letter to Maine’s lobster industry […]
  • Read the NOAA Rule
    You can download the actual document in pdf form by clicking here.
  • Two Paths That Could Change NOAA Rules
    President Biden or the Courts Must Intervene By Sen. Marianne Moore The elaborate machinations of the federal bureaucracy have concluded their efforts and decreed lobster fishing in a large swath of the Gulf of Maine will change dramatically in order to protect right whales that, as far as anyone knows, do not visit there. Despite […]