Industry groups including Maine Lobstermen’s Association are suing the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California for defamation, arguing in a lawsuit filed Monday that their prized catch shouldn’t be on a “red list” published byof seafood to avoid due to the threat posed to rare whales by entanglement in fishing gear used to harvest American lobster, the species that makes up most of the U.S. lobster market.Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox.
“This is a significant lawsuit that will help eradicate the damage done by folks who have no clue about the care taken by lobstermen to protect the ecosystem and the ocean,” said John Petersdorf, chief executive officer of Bean Maine Lobster Inc., one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, in a statement.
The aquarium says its recommendations are correct based on the best available evidence. It says right whales are indeed vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. The lawsuit ignores “the extensive evidence that these fisheries pose a serious risk to the survival of the endangered North Atlantic right whale, and they seek to curtail the First Amendment rights of a beloved institution that educates the public about the importance of a healthy ocean,” said Kevin Connor, a spokesperson for the aquarium.it awarded Maine’s lobster industry over concerns about harm to whales.
The U.S. lobster industry is based mostly in Maine. The industry brought about 98 million pounds of lobster to the docks last year. That was less than the previous year, but historically a fairly high number.
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