WASHINGTON - Some of Maine’s leaders were accused this week of trading "pork" for lobsters by Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan watchdog group that monitors government pork-barrel spending.

The group released its 2008 Pig Book on Wednesday, listing government pork projects and giving one of its "Oinker Awards" to Maine’s Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and Democratic Rep. Tom Allen. They received the Taxpayers Get Steamed Award for $188,000 that was given to the Lobster Institute, a research and education program at the University of Maine.

One of the institute’s projects, the lobster cam, is a small underwater video camera attached to a lobster trap.

"If we’re going to fund a lobster cam at a time when we’re at war, we’re not making good decisions," said Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., at a press conference. Appearing with DeMint were a man in a pink pig suit; five other members of Congress; Tom Schatz, the president of the watchdog group; and two live pigs, Winnie and Dudley, who munched on treats.

The Pig Book defines pork as spending that meets at least one of seven criteria: requested by only one chamber of Congress; not specifically authorized; not competitively awarded; not requested by the president; greatly exceeds the president’s budget request; not the subject of congressional hearings; and serves only a local or special interest.

This definition encompasses spending earmarks, the practice of designating money for local or special-interest projects.

The Lobster Institute earmark went to fund lobster health research, which is vital to the lobster industry, said Robert Bayer, head of the Lobster Institute.

"Lobsters get sick just like any other animal, and sometimes what they get sick from kills them," Bayer said. "Some of these health issues are from pollutants that come from us. We want to know what those health issues are and how we can mitigate them."

Bayer stressed that while people can’t be harmed by these lobster health issues, determining what makes lobsters sick should result in more lobsters to eat.

"It’s not trivial. It’s about the survival of the industry," Bayer said, noting that people eat Maine lobsters all over the country and even in Canada, and that "one of the reasons people come to Maine is to see the quaint lobster villages and eat lobster."

There are more than 5,800 lobstermen in Maine, and Maine supplied 70 percent of the country’s lobsters in 2006, according to the office of Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine.

The institute is funded mostly by those affected every day by the lobster industry: lobster associations, fishermen and their friends. It relies on sponsors and endowments so that it will not need to rely on the federal government, Bayer said.

"While I did not in fact make this specific request, … the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine seeks to enhance our understanding of the impact of the environment on this vital resource as well as on food safety," Snowe said. "These objectives, which the appropriation would support, are important given there’s no question our lobster industry is vital to the economy of Maine."

Congress has spent more than $17 billion on pork projects during the current federal fiscal year, according to the watchdog group. Maine received less of this money on a per capita basis than most states, dropping from 28th in 2006 — the last year for which rankings were issued — to 41st this fiscal year. Maine received more than $29.5 million for pork-barrel projects, the group said.

The Maine members of Congress said pork spending can get out of control but that many of the projects are important.

"I will continue to fight against government waste and to make sure that our tax dollars are spent wisely," Michaud said. "At the same time, I will also continue to advocate for appropriate federal investments in high-priority needs in Maine."

Snowe and Collins released a list of their requested earmarks last year to maintain an open process, a spokesman for Collins said. Michaud and Allen did not.

"Sponsors of earmarks should make their requests public, as Sen. Snowe and I have done," Collins said. But "when subjected to thorough scrutiny and transparency, earmarks can be an appropriate exercise of Congress’ constitutional budget authority."

Allen does not disclose all of the earmarks he requests.

"Publishing information about requests that are not funded could undermine the constituent’s efforts to secure funding from other sources," a spokesman for Allen said.

Allen does display all earmarks he has secured on his Web site.