{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-introduces-amendment-to-block-gauge-increase-for-maine-lobstermen", "Golden introduces amendment to block gauge increase for Maine lobstermen", "2024-07-22", "2024", "2024-07", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Jared F. Golden", "G000592", "golden.house.gov", "golden", "https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today introduced a bipartisan amendment to block for one year a proposed gauge increase in the Gulf of Maine by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).\n\nGolden submitted his amendment for consideration in the Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) cosponsored the amendment.\n\n\u201cGauge increases are a significant change that must be informed by the best possible science, and both Maine lobstermen and the fishery itself lose when Canada isn\u2019t held to the same standards.\u201d Golden said. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that regulators need to work much closer with fishermen to keep the industry sustainable and competitive.\u201d\n\nLobstermen gauge the size of a lobster by measuring its carapace from eye socket to tail. Lobsters that are smaller than the minimum gauge size must be put back in the water so they can grow, protecting the lobster population for the future. According to the ASMFC, lobster stock decline in Lobster Management Area 1 has surpassed 35 percent \u2014 the trigger point for an automatic increase in allowable catch size from 3 1/4 inches to 3 5/16 inches. However, Maine fishermen have questioned the data used to justify these changes, including concerns that ASMFC stock data is out of date. This new rule \u2014 known as Addendum 27 \u2014 is scheduled to begin in January 2025.\n\nIn addition to questions about the reliability of the data used by ASMFC, Golden and Maine fishermen have raised concerns about how an increased minimum size requirement would put Maine lobstermen at a competitive disadvantage with Canadians.\n\nGolden\u2019s amendment would block federal funding from being used to implement, administer or enforce ASMFC\u2019s proposed gauge increase.\n\n\u201cNEFSA is grateful, as always, for Congressman Golden\u2019s continuous support of Maine\u2019s hard-working lobstermen as they continue to navigate through unnecessary Government regulations,\u201d said Dustin Delano, a lobsterman and chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen\u2019s Stewardship Association.\n\n\u201cMaine's fishing industry is vital to our coastal communities\u2019 survival,\u201d said Virginia Olsen, commercial lobsterman and director of the Maine Lobstering Union. \u201cMuch work needs to be done between Maine and Canada before any gauge increase is implemented. We thank Congressmen Golden for his continued support.\u201d\n\nIn April, Golden sent a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission calling for a delay to its upcoming gauge increase until it worked with fishermen to consider more accurate, comprehensive stock data \u2014 as well as the market impacts of a U.S.-only change.\n\nFull text of Golden\u2019s amendment can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:24:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-introduces-amendment-to-block-gauge-increase-for-maine-lobstermen"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6903340108692646, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}