For generations, Maine lobstermen and women have made their livelihoods from our coastal waters.
But over the past several years, our hardworking fishing families have been the victims of unfair attacks and draconian regulations that would ruin their lives and put an end to the lobster fishery as we know it.
Well, my administration and Maine’s Congressional Delegation worked together to fight back.
Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.
Look, Maine lobster fishermen are committed to protecting the endangered right whale.
In fact, our lobstermen and women helped develop measures to protect right whales, and they have complied with difficult and onerous Federal regulations, removing as many as 30,000 miles of line from the water and spending tens of thousands of dollars out of their own pockets – at a huge expense – to modify or outright change up their gear to protect right whales.
Despite this fact, the Federal government, going back to the previous administration – pushed by extremist organizations who got the ear of a Federal Court judge in Washington – has been moving ahead with new regulations that would put an end to Maine’s lobster industry and hurt thousands of hardworking Maine people.
They are doing this based not on solid data, but on speculation, estimates, surmise – on the theoretical possibility that a right whale could be injured or killed.
They have done this even when there has never been a single right whale death attributed to Maine lobster gear.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve worked very closely with all members of our Congressional Delegation to draft and secure passage of a provision in an end-of-year federal spending bill that keeps Maine’s lobster fishery in operation.
This provision is a straightforward, commonsense compromise that will place a six year pause on new regulations, and that will allow our lobstermen to continue to operate while still complying with the most recent right whale rule.
It also creates a new grant program that may fund innovative gear technologies and the monitoring that will help the Maine Department of Marine Resources manage the fishery.
Although there is still work ahead, this provision offers a lifeline to Maine lobstermen and the industry at large. Without it, it’s no exaggeration to say that Maine’s lobster industry could be facing a complete shutdown—and the effects of that across our state would not only be profound; they would be absolutely devastating.
Look, our lobster fishermen, who set out from our docks before dawn, and who haul traps in all kinds of weather, who feed their families and their neighbors and our state’s economy with their catch – they are truly at the heart of Maine.
And as someone with deep roots in Stonington, where my ancestors fished and risked their lives, Maine fishermen have my deepest respect and my strongest support. I will continue to fight with everything I have to protect them and their families.
I want to personally thank Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, Representatives Pingree and Golden, for their deep collaboration and great bipartisan teamwork.
I hope by the time you hear this message, that our measure will have become law and that our fishermen up the coast of Maine will all have a good holiday to celebrate this weekend.
And this weekend, remember those in need, those who are unhoused, those who are hungry – and I want to take a moment to express my deep gratitude to the Maine Legislature and to the ad hoc Appropriations Committee, who voted unanimously to support our emergency housing and heating fuel assistance bill. It is so needed, and I look forward to a positive vote by the full Maine Legislature in the coming weeks.
Remember the needy, the disadvantaged, the hungry, and unhoused this holiday weekend. Please, stay safe.
This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.