Lawmakers unsure about lobster industry defense fund bill

ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 15, 2022

The Maine Legislature’s Committee on Marine Resources on Tuesday voted to table a proposal launch a defense fund to help the lobster industry navigate the new rules, laws and regulations that are designed to protect the declining species of right whales. Some members of the committee and the lobster industry balked at the idea, in part because it would redirect fees and surcharges the state currently uses to manage the lobster fishing industry.