Saving Seafood

Retailers pull lobster from menus after ‘red list’ warning

September 9, 2022 — Some retailers are taking lobster off the menu after an assessment from an influential conservation group that the harvest of the seafood poses too much of a risk to rare whales and should be avoided.

Whales can suffer injuries and fatalities when they become entangled in the gear that connects to lobster traps on the ocean floor. Seafood Watch, which rates the sustainability of different seafoods, said this week it has added the American and Canadian lobster fisheries to its “red list” of species to avoid.

The organization, based at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, said in a report that the fishing industry is a danger to North Atlantic right whales because “current management measures do not go far enough to mitigate entanglement risks and promote recovery of the species.”

housands of businesses use Seafood Watch’s recommendations to inform seafood buying decisions, and many have pledged to avoid any items that appear on the red list. A spokesperson for Blue Apron, the New York meal kit retailer, said the company stopped offering a seasonal lobster box prior to the report, and all of the seafood it is currently using follows Seafood Watch’s guidelines. HelloFresh, the Germany-based meal kit company that is the largest such company operating in the U.S., also pledged shortly after the announcement to stop selling lobster.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

MAINE: Maine politicians blast Seafood Watch rating that tells consumers to avoid eating lobster

September 8, 2022 — California-based Seafood Watch this week issued a recommendation to avoid Maine lobster, drawing the ire of Maine politicians.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch gave a red rating to the U.S. and Canadian lobster industries, saying they aren’t doing enough to protect the North Atlantic right whale.  The whale is endangered and U.S. federal regulators have imposed new fishing gear guidelines to try to help protect the species.

A red rating from Seafood Watch recommends that consumers “take a pass on these for now,” and the group said in a statement that “Canadian and U.S. management measures do not go far enough to mitigate entanglement risks and promote recovery” of the whales.

Seafood Watch is a program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium that describes itself as “working directly with businesses and governments around the world — increasing both the market demand for, and a reliable supply of, sustainable seafood.”

Read the full article at Spectrum News 

MAINE: Lobstermen and lobster retailers respond to a report red listing Maine lobster

September 8, 2022 — The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has a Seafood Watch program that rates U.S. and Canadian fisheries on their sustainability. The list seeks to protect endangered species and prevent overfishing.

The watchdog group just red listed American lobster fisheries in Maine, advising consumers, retailers and restaurants to avoid purchasing lobster from Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.

The report claims that lobster gear poses a risk to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. It’s an assessment that lobstermen say is unfair and inaccurate. Entanglements are the leading cause of death for right whales but no deaths have been linked to Maine lobster gear and the gear hasn’t caused an entanglement in over a decade.

Read the full article at WTMW