By PATRICK WHITTLE | The Related Press
PORTLAND, Maine — A congressman from Maine stated Wednesday he'll file a proposal to withhold federal cash from a California aquarium and conservation group that has advisable seafood shoppers keep away from shopping for lobster.
The transfer from Democratic Rep. Jared Golden got here per week after a spat with Republican former Rep. Bruce Poliquin about help for Maine’s lobster trade. Golden, Poliquin and unbiased candidate Tiffany Bond are working to characterize Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, which is residence to many lobster fishermen.
Poliquin referred to as on Golden to return a donation of $667 from Julie Packard, the manager director of Monterey Bay Aquarium. The aquarium runs Seafood Watch, a conservation group that makes sustainability suggestions for seafood shoppers. The group put lobster from the U.S. and Canada on its “pink record” of seafood to keep away from final month because of the risk posed to uncommon whales by entanglement in fishing gear.
Golden stated Wednesday that he's presenting a invoice to withhold any future federal funding from the aquarium and its applications. The aquarium has acquired greater than $190 million in federal cash since 2001, he stated.
“This group’s pink record designation of American lobster might have a critical impression on the livelihoods of 1000's of hard-working lobstermen, and I consider Congress should do one thing about it,” Golden stated.
All 4 members of the Maine delegation are on board with the invoice. It has been co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree and has a companion invoice within the Senate launched by unbiased Sen. Angus King and cosponsored by Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Golden stated.
Golden declined to return the donation from Packard and as a substitute donated it as a part of a $5,000 donation to the Maine Lobstermen’s Affiliation Authorized Protection Fund, representatives for his marketing campaign stated.
Seafood Watch’s advice that customers cease shopping for lobster prompted some retailers to cease promoting it. Maine produces way more lobster than some other state within the nation. The state’s lobsters have been value greater than $700 million on the docks final yr.
However entanglement in fishing gear, together with collisions with massive ships, is without doubt one of the prime threats confronted by North Atlantic proper whales, which quantity lower than 340 on the earth. Some scientists have stated warming ocean temperatures are inflicting the whales to stray from protected areas searching for meals, and that has left them extra weak to collisions and entanglement. A federal decide additionally dominated this summer season that the federal government hasn’t accomplished sufficient to guard the whales from the entanglements, and that stronger guidelines are wanted.
Representatives for Monterey Bay Aquarium defended the Seafood Watch resolution to put lobster on the record of seafood to keep away from. Aquarium representatives additionally stated a lot of the federal cash cited by Golden went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Analysis Institute, a separate establishment that companions with the aquarium and isn't concerned with Seafood Watch.
“The U.S. fisheries which use gear with vertical strains have been red-rated as a result of their governing businesses didn't hold them in compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Safety Act. This response distracts from the true concern: the pressing want for presidency to get these fisheries again into compliance,” stated Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, vice chairman of world ocean conservation for the aquarium.
Golden and Poliquin have traded barbs about Seafood Watch donations over the previous week. Golden’s marketing campaign stated Poliquin’s accusation about Packard’s donation was hypocritical as a result of Poliquin has taken greater than $140,000 over the previous decade from banks and different massive donors that additionally give to Monterey Bay Aquarium. Brent Littlefield, a spokesperson for Poliquin’s marketing campaign, responded that these donations aren't the equal of taking cash from the director of the aquarium itself.
Golden’s invoice to defund the aquarium is “one other gimmick from Golden making an attempt to distract from his accepting cash from Seafood Watch,” stated Roy Mathews, a Poliquin spokesperson. Mathews added that Congress shouldn't be at the moment in session.
The Golden and Poliquin campaigns have mixed to obtain properly over $5 million in contributions in complete. Additionally they confronted off in 2018, when Golden unseated Poliquin by way of ranked selection voting.