August 15, 2016 — Sweden’s response to a highly critical analysis of its rationale for banning the export of American lobsters into the European Union still falls far short of a credible scientific standard, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton said Friday.
“The science they are citing is flawed,” Moulton said following a congressional briefing by NOAA Fisheries on the international contretemps. “They’ve done nothing to back up their data. And if they can’t back up their data, then there’s something else going on.”
In March, Sweden petitioned the remainder of the European Union to list American lobsters as an invasive species, claiming the increased presence of the American crustaceans in Swedish waters during the past three decades is imperiling its indigenous lobsters.
If successful, the invasive species listing would lead to a ban on U.S. and Canadian live lobster exports to Sweden and the rest of the 28-member European Union. The U.S. exports about $150 million worth of live lobsters to the EU each year — the vast majority landed in Maine and Massachusetts, where Gloucester is the top port — and Canada exports about $75 million.
The Swedish risk assessment, which cites the adverse potential of disease and cross-breeding between the indigenous lobsters and their American cousins across the pond, was like a starting pistol, spurring both U.S. and Canadian governmental agencies, trade officials and lobster stakeholders into action.