Maine lobstermen and women are still fighting a rating last fall that was a dagger to the industry.
So they are collectively fighting back. According to the Bangor Daily News, reps from the lobster industry in Maine filed a lawsuit against the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. The lawsuit states that they made false and defamatory statements about Maine lobster fishing practices and that led consumers to steer clear of Maine lobsters because of how they were harvested.
In case you don't remember, and all lobstermen won't soon forget, last fall Maine landed on a 'red list'. Seafood Watch, a very influential seafood sustainability list published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said that lobster from Atlantic communities should be avoided. They accused fishery management of not doing enough to protect the endangered right whale. It's been a fight ever since.
The lawsuit is challenging the aquarium's claims that they have 'scientific data' that shows Maine lobster practices have hurt North Atlantic right whales. That statement, they claim, has caused a world of economic hurt and more importantly tarnished Maine’s hard-earned reputation for a clean envious coast. The lawsuit wants an injunction making the aquarium remove from its websites and every other place all defamatory statements about the Maine lobster industry and its fishing practices. Oh, and they want money for all the business they have lost or will lose because of these statements. Plus, throw in money for lawyers and court fees.
In November Whole Foods said that it would stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine at hundreds of its stores around the country based on this report by Seafood Watch. This announcement had J's Seafood ask Mainers to ban Whole Foods! The lobster and fishing industry is the backbone of Maine and they have taken great strides in protecting the waters and the right whale.
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