Maine fishery regulators are planning a second round of meetings with lobstermen in the state to prepare for potential new restrictions designed to protect endangered whales.
A federal government team has called for removal of many vertical trap lines from the Gulf of Maine to reduce risk to North Atlantic right whales, which number about 400. The Maine Department of Maine Resources held a series of meetings with lobstermen about the new rules earlier this year. The last took place in late June.
The department says another round of meetings will concern what measures the state plans to send to the National Marine Fisheries Service to reduce the risk to the whales.
The seven meetings will run from Sept. 3 to Sept. 18 in communities along the Maine coast.
