January 9, 2018 — Both of Maine’s senators are warning that the Trump administration’s plan to open offshore drilling along the coast of their state threatens the state’s huge lobster industry.
“We oppose any effort to open waters off the coast of Maine or any proximate area to offshore drilling, which could negatively affect the health of Maine’s fisheries and other coastal resources, threatening to harm not only the environment but the state’s economy as well,” wrote Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Independent Sen. Angus King wrote to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday. “Maine’s economic stability — and countless Mainers’ livelihoods — has always depended on the health of the ocean.”
The lawmakers wrote that lobster alone is a $1.7 billion annual industry for the state.
“These critical industries are dependent on Maine’s pristine waters, and even a minor spill could damage irreparably the ecosystem in the Gulf of Maine, including the lobster larvae and adult lobster populations therein,” the lawmakers wrote.
Read the full story at the Washington Examiner