ROCKLAND (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci is considering a state of emergency for Maine fishermen hurt by tight new federal fisheries regulations.

Surrounded by fishing boats at the commercial pier in Rockland Wednesday, Baldacci joined Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner George LaPointe to speak out against the regulations the regulations.

There has been no formal request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but federal funds would help fishermen who have suffered through declines in groundfish stocks and subsequent regulations, LaPointe said.

Helping fishing families with insurance costs and making state taxation fairer for fishermen are also on the table, Baldacci said, adding that the groundfishing industry is “worth fighting for.”

Just 140 people now have groundfishing permits, according to the Department of Marine Resources, compared to 202 in 1994.

Fisherman Vincent Balzano of Saco said his income fell by 25 to 30 percent, even before the new Amendment 13 regulations went into effect May 1.

He will have 48 fishing days this summer, down from 88 in 2001.

“It’s my home. It’s my culture,” said Balzano, a third-generation fisherman who made his first fishing trip when he was 6 years old.

The Department of Marine Resources predicts a threefold increase in fish populations and a potential yearly catch of up to 80 million pounds, over the next three decades.

“I don’t understand why we should have to have such great hardship to get there two or three years earlier,” Balzano said.

Strict rules are needed to protect the fishery’s future, said Roger Fleming of the Conservation Law Foundation, which sued the federal government in 2000, arguing the National Marine Fisheries Service was not doing enough to prevent overfishing of groundfish stocks.

The Amendment 13 regulations were one result of that lawsuit.

Maine lawmakers are working with the state’s congressional delegation to push for changes in federal law so the social and economic effects of fisheries management receive greater consideration.

“We want to put some balance back into it,” LaPointe said.

AP-ES-05-06-04 1335EDT