PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishing regulators are delaying a plan for stricter fishing rules amid concerns about a decline in baby lobsters in the warming waters off New England.
The regulators are looking to institute a new rule that fishermen need to abide by a larger minimum size for the lobsters they trap. The change is only 1/16th of an inch or 1.6 millimeters, but regulators have said it will help preserve the population of the valuable crustaceans, as many small lobsters will need to be tossed back to the ocean.
Some fishermen have argued the change is unnecessary and will be disruptive to one of the country’s most lucrative seafood industries when it is already stressed by warming waters, surging expenses and new rules to protect whales. They’ve argued for the new rules to be delayed or scrapped.
