News in brief WASHINGTON: SENATE STAFFERS TO HOLD SESSIONS ON FISH MANAGEMENT BILL

U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard, is sending her subcommittee staff to Maine to conduct a series of listening sessions on reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. Maine fishermen and other interest groups are urged to meet with Snowe’s staff to discuss concerns with the act. Snowe, who hopes to attend the sessions if her schedule allows, said they would ensure the state’s concerns are addressed as the Senate Commerce Committee develops new language for improving federal fishing laws. The sessions are scheduled for: Portland, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, at the Portland Fish Exchange; Rockland, 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at the Samoset Resort; Ellsworth, 10 a.m.-noon Thursday, June 2, at the Holiday Inn; and Machias, 3-5 p.m. Thursday, June 2, at the University of Maine, Science Building.