PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 1, 2021
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is now taking comment on its Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, aimed at reducing risk of rope entanglements and ship strikes to the endangered mammal by at least 60%. Environmentalists focused on saving the right whale say it doesn’t go far enough, while Maine lobstermen say the proposed changes would cripple the $485 million-a-year industry. Our comment? Don’t pass a plan that puts the deaths of right whales on the backs of Maine lobstermen unless you can show that’s where it should be.