For the second time in as many years, state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has convinced the Senate to include in its $41.49 billion budget a plan to expand in-state processing of raw and frozen lobster parts.
The question now is whether — unlike 2017 — the measure will remain in the final budget.
The Tarr-sponsored measure, adopted by the Senate on Thursday night as an amendment to the fiscal 2019 budget bill, would direct the state Division of Marine Fisheries to implement new regulations that permit on-shore lobster processing “after an assessment of whether such activity would harm the lobster stock or the sustainability of the state’s commercial lobster industry.”
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