Golden wins President Trump’s support for extending moratorium on lobster, right whale regulations until 2035

May 1, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today won the support of the White House for his legislation to protect Maine’s lobstermen from new regulations related to the North Atlantic right whale until 2035. Golden in recent weeks has had several conversations with administration officials about the bill, H.R. 8509. The Trump administration announced its support for the bill in a Statement of Administration Policy released this afternoon. Golden worked with the Maine delegation and Governor Janet Mills to win the moratorium on industry-crippling new regulations — including potential fishery closures — in 2022 under President Joe Biden, but the freeze is scheduled to expire in 2028. Golden has long advocated for the federal government to extend the moratorium. “The need to protect Maine’s iconic lobster industry knows no party. I’m grateful for the President’s support for Maine’s lobstermen and hopeful that my colleagues in the House will join me in quickly passing this bill into law,” Golden said. “Before we enacted this moratorium, Maine’s lobster industry was on the verge of shutting down because of proposed regulations that were onerous and based on flawed science and hypothetical scenarios rather than the reality on the water. Extending the moratorium will give lobstermen and their communities stability and peace of mind, protect an industry worth half a billion dollars annually and give the government time to get the science right,” Golden said. Golden’s bill can be found here . The White House’s Statement of Administration Policy can be found here . ### Issues : Workers & Unions Maine's Heritage Industries