PORTLAND (AP) – The federal government is proposing to delay a new rule requiring lobstermen to change the type of rope they use on their traps, officials said Tuesday.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing to extend until April 2009 a deadline requiring lobstermen to use sinking rope instead of floating rope to protect whales from getting entangled, said spokeswoman Teri Frady. The change had been scheduled to go into effect this October.

A final decision on the proposal is expected in August, Frady said.

NMFS is proposing the delay to give other East Coast fishermen affected by the rules – those who use crab and fish pots – more time to comply and to ensure there aren’t any rope shortages, she said.

The postponement is good for Maine’s lobstermen because October is often the peak of lobster season, said U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

The delay will allow fishermen and gear manufacturers enough time to adapt to the rule while also providing time to improve upon the final regulations, the senators said in a statement.

Maine lobstermen have balked at the new rules, saying they will be financially burdensome – costing $10,000 to $15,000 for each nearshore lobsterman to comply – while doing little if anything to protect whales.

Others say more needs to be done to protect whales, especially endangered North Atlantic right whales, which now number between 300 and 350.

Vicki Cornish, vice president of marine wildlife conservation at the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy, said a delay increases the risks for whales.

“While we understand the impacts that the sinking groundline requirements will have on fisherman, we are concerned that delaying this rule will leave no protections in place for whales during this time,” she said.

AP-ES-06-03-08 1634EDT