Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com.
I’ll be blunt: Maine lobstermen are in the process of getting absolutely slammed by new federal regulations that are shutting down key areas of our fishery during a prime season. As someone who’s in the fourth generation of my family to harvest lobster off our coast, I am deeply worried that this could spell disaster for our iconic industry.
Significant financial support is needed to help us weather these unfair regulations. So I was heartened to read that U.S. Rep. Jared Golden is holding out his vote on the Build Back Better bill in part to try to include some federal resources to help lobstermen survive and adapt to these drastic changes.
I think the Build Back Better bill could do a lot of good, but it’s a work in progress. I’m glad that Golden wants to make sure this bill does as much as possible to help the people he represents. It means a lot to lobstermen up and down the Maine coast.
Ginny Olsen
Maine Lobstering Union-Local 207
Stonington