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Seasonal lobstering closures reinstated for October to January off midcoast Maine

Eric Pray unpacks a lobster on a wharf, May 29, 2020, in Portland, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP file
Eric Pray unpacks a lobster on a wharf, May 29, 2020, in Portland, Maine.

A federal court is reinstating a seasonal closure of nearly 1,000 square miles of lobstering grounds off Maine's midcoast that regulators imposed last year.

The U.S. First District Court of Appeals decision ends a preliminary injunction that a lower court imposed on behalf of the Maine Lobstering Union and local lobster fishermen.

The MLU claimed the government overstated the risk that fishing gear poses of entangling endangered North Atlantic right whales. But the appeals court found that the MLU was unlikely to prevail.

As the case continues, traditional trap-pot gear will be barred from the affected area, about 30 miles off shore, from October through January.

A Columbia University graduate, Fred began his journalism career as a print reporter in Vermont, then came to Maine Public in 2001 as its political reporter, as well as serving as a host for a variety of Maine Public Radio and Maine Public Television programs. Fred later went on to become news director for New England Public Radio in Western Massachusetts and worked as a freelancer for National Public Radio and a number of regional public radio stations, including WBUR in Boston and NHPR in New Hampshire.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

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Now all of that is at risk.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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