September 21, 2022 — Lobstermen from Maine are speaking out over recent warnings about the product they catch to make their living after a West Coast aquarium discouraged consumers from purchasing lobsters.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium, in Monterey, California, is standing by its decision to “red-list” the lobster industry over concerns that North Atlantic right whales are harmed in the fishing process.
“We stand by our science-based assessments,” Seafood Watch, a sustainable seafood advisory list released by the aquarium, told FOX Business via email.
Specifically, they charge that North Atlantic right whales, which number less than 340, become entangled in the lobstermen’s buoy lines.
The Seafood Watch website’s “red list” advises consumers to “take a pass on these [species] for now; they’re overfished, lack strong management or are caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment.”
Other lobsters included in the warning include a green “best choice,” a yellow “good alternative” and a blue “certified.”
The aquarium told FOX Business via email that Seafood Watch “started the assessments [you’re] inquiring about in 2018,” after 17 North Atlantic right whales were reported dead in the United States and Canada the previous year.