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January 9, 2008

Maine fishing groups sue feds

Two Maine-based commercial fishing groups are suing the federal government in hopes of barring herring trawlers from some New England fishing grounds.

Saco-based Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and Port Clyde-based Midcoast Fishermen's Association have filed suit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Marine Fisheries Service and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez for not adequately protecting groundfish populations from industrial herring boats, the Associated Press reported.

The suit is a follow-up to a petition the groups filed last October urging the federal government to ban herring trawlers from areas already closed to other groundfishing boats, as the trawlers inadvertently catch large amounts of cod, haddock and other groundfish, called bycatch. Herring industry representatives have denied the claim, saying federal data does not show any bycatch problems, according to the AP.

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