BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2025
Three years ago Maine’s lobster industry was on the verge of shutting down because of a regulatory process that was based on flawed interpretation of federal law and biased modeling that relied heavily on hypothetical threats that fisheries posed to the North Atlantic right whale. One of my proudest accomplishments in Congress was the successful effort in 2022 to enact a moratorium on these regulations until 2028, coupled with additional funding to support right whale research. More time is needed to incorporate the research and data collected during the pause into future right whale regulations. I’m working with my colleague Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska on legislation to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act that would extend the regulatory pause until 2035. ~ U.S. Rep. Jared Golden