January 8, 2014 — Lobster and crab fisheries on Canada’s East Coast are unfairly maligned in an American report condemning them for endangering the North Atlantic right whale, some industry observers in Halifax said Wednesday.
“A call for a boycott of Canadian seafood is misplaced and would be ineffective if ever implemented,” said Robert Rangeley, a marine expert for the Atlantic region with World Wildlife Federation Canada.
The Los Angeles advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council has called for an American boycott of Canadian seafood producers who ignore United States regulations aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Lobster and crab fisheries on the East Coast threaten to push the species to near extinction due to negligent fishing methods and regulations, the council said Tuesday at a news conference.
It was part of a council call for boycotts of a range of seafood products that threaten endangered marine mammals around the world.
Rangeley said targeting the East Coast lobster and crab fisheries is a misguided move because there are so many other factors affecting the right whale’s plight.