Senator Still Disappointed that Democrats Fail to Fund the Program

State Senator Cathy Cook (R-Mystic) today applauded Governor M. Jodi Rell's signature on legislation that establishes a lobster restoration program in Connecticut. Senator Cook, however, was disappointed that the Majority Party had not allocated any state funding for the new program despite the fact that the bill had received unanimous approval from the Committees on Environment and Appropriations, as well as from both the House and Senate.

"Certainly, this is a great piece of legislation and I commend the Governor for signing the bill, but without the necessary funding, it will be difficult to properly implement," said Senator Cook. "I am disappointed that the Democrats could not find even a small amount of funding in such a large bond package for a valuable program such as this. Protecting sea life and our environment should be one of our top priorities as legislators and we should do everything possible to see that we allocate proper funding. I will continue to seek every opportunity for funding this year and will work with my colleagues, the Governor and the lobstermen until this program is funded."

The bill requires the State's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner to ensure that V-shaped notched are marked on the tails of mature female lobsters that licensed commercial fishermen land and then release in order to increase lobster egg production.