Maine lawmaker urges US officials to address Canada's lobster 'gray zone'

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Tuesday questioned how fisheries and trade officials at the US Department of Commerce were handling issues with Canada that she said are harming the US lobster industry.

During the hearing, Collins questioned what NOAA and International Trade Administration officials were doing to address competition issues Maine's lobster industry is facing with Canada in an area known as the "gray zone."

The waters around Machias Seal Island sit 10 miles off the coast of Maine, bordering Canada, and are managed by each country with "separate and often conflicting regulations," she testified.