WE, your Memorialists, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Maine now assembled in the Second Regular Session, most respectfully present and petition the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as follows:

WHEREAS,  the men and women who work in the Maine lobster industry are constantly at risk of injury and loss of life; and

WHEREAS,  the safety of these workers must be the primary concern of all government agencies that regulate the ocean; and

WHEREAS,  the Maine lobster industry has made many changes to help protect the right whale; and

WHEREAS,  no right whales have been killed by Maine lobster gear and deaths in 2019 were predominantly by ship strikes in Canadian waters or in one instance due to Canadian fishing gear entanglements; and

WHEREAS,  the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has stated that right whales likely are not traveling in the waters in which Maine lobster fishing occurs; and

WHEREAS,  the proposal to modify the existing Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will not save any right whales in Maine waters but will put the lives of workers in the Maine lobster industry at great risk; and

WHEREAS,  the lobster industry is one of Maine's core traditional natural resource industries and has employed generations of Maine's citizens; and

WHEREAS,  the lobster industry contributes $1.5 billion to Maine's economy and entire communities depend upon the work that the lobster industry provides; now, therefore, be it