New Whale-Safe Lobster Fishing Requirements In Maine

A legal settlement announced Tuesday will let Maine lobstermen know early this fall whether they will be forced to spend thousands of dollars for new whale-safe gear and change their traditional fishing methods. The settlement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and two environmental groups is being hailed by those environmentalists as an important step in protecting endangered right whales, which sometimes become tangled in commercial fishing gear. The lawsuit had argued that the government is long overdue in issuing regulations to protect the whales, and that any further delay risked further injuries or deaths...