Some members of the Maine Legislature have announced that they are sponsoring bills to punish Whole Foods for not selling lobster. This effort is mean-spirited and misdirected.
The legislators’ efforts, and the efforts of anyone concerned about the lobster industry, should be aimed at obtaining scientific studies to prove once and for all that right whales are not being harmed by the lobster fishery. It will be cheaper, in the long run, to obtain data that exonerate the lobster industry than to endlessly litigate with the federal government and the environmental groups.
Once the scientific findings are obtained, a number of proposed regulations such as ropeless systems, limits on the number of traps on a line, etc., should be deemed useless, and the fishermen can go about their work. A side effect of the research may well be findings that may enhance the long-term survival of the whales.
I urge our elected officials to deemphasize litigation and punishment, and fund fair and definitive studies that support lobstermen by proving their contention that they do not harm right whales.
Alan Hull
Portland
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.