Environmental activist Richard Max Strahan filed suit yesterday against Maine Gov. Angus King (I) and U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daly, asking a judge to order them and other officials to stop licensing the use of lobstering and fishing gear that entangles northern right whales. There are only some 300 right whales left in the North Atlantic, and despite 1997 rules intended to protect the animals, some whales continue to get entangled in gear and die as a result. Strahan’s suit could force dramatic changes in the lobster industry, as did an earlier suit he filed in Massachusetts. The Conservation Law Foundation and the Humane Society of the United States have filed notice that they also plan to sue the federal government to get more aggressive protection for the right whales.
