Statement on Maine Congressional Delegation’s Letter to President Trump on Right Whale Regulations

Today, the Maine Congressional Delegation sent a letter to President Trump asking him to prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from developing new science-based regulations to protect the North Atlantic right whale from deadly fishing gear.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement: 

“With only about 400 North Atlantic right whales left in the world, the Maine delegation’s ask amounts to a death sentence for the species. The regulatory process the delegation is trying to politicize and obstruct is based on the best available science and recommendations from a stakeholder group including representatives from Maine’s lobstering industry. We urge President Trump to do as both parties in Congress did when Reps. Golden and Pingree brought this shameful policy to the House floor last month: crush it.”