PORTLAND, Maine - A congresswoman says the Coast Guard has rescinded a rule that prohibited lobstermen from fishing in the waters around a remote Maine island.Rep. Chellie Pingree says Coast Guard officials told her Tuesday night that they had withdrawn the rule making waters around Seal Island off-limits. Officials had been concerned about unexploded bombs left over from the mid-20th century when the Navy used the island as an aerial bombing range. Pingree says the rule was withdrawn because the risk level is unknown and the economic impact on fishermen is greater than first thought.
The island, which serves as a nesting ground for the once-endangered puffin, is closed to public access. The waters surrounding the island are listed as a "danger zone" on nautical charts.
About 30 fishermen tend to hundreds of traps in the waters.
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