Maine congressman to withhold federal funding to aquarium, conservationist group red-listing Maine lobster
06.10.2022 - 18:45
/ foxnews.com
A congressman from Maine said Wednesday he will file a proposal to withhold federal money from a California aquarium and conservation group that has recommended seafood consumers avoid buying lobster. The move from Democratic Rep. Jared Golden came a week after a spat with Republican former Rep.
Bruce Poliquin about support for Maine's lobster industry. Golden, Poliquin and independent candidate Tiffany Bond are running to represent Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, which is home to many lobster fishermen. Poliquin called on Golden to return a donation of $667 from Julie Packard, the executive director of Monterey Bay Aquarium.The aquarium runs Seafood Watch, a conservation group that makes sustainability recommendations for seafood consumers.The group put lobster from the U.S.
and Canada on its "red list" of seafood to avoid last month due to the threat posed to rare whales by entanglement in fishing gear. Golden said Wednesday that he is presenting a bill to withhold any future federal funding from the aquarium and its programs.The aquarium has received more than $190 million in federal money since 2001, he said. "This organization’s red list designation of American lobster could have a serious impact on the livelihoods of thousands of hard-working lobstermen, and I believe Congress must do something about it," Golden said.
All four members of the Maine delegation are on board with the bill. It has been co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree and has a companion bill in the Senate introduced by independent Sen.
Angus King and cosponsored by Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Golden said. A Maine lobster fisherman can be seen here harvesting his catch while fishing off Spruce Head, Maine, on Aug.
The website popstar.one is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can
send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.