In February, we reported on a Green Group that had placed a pin in Maine’s Lobster Industry. “The California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program is considering which species to add to its “red list,” and North American lobster from both the US and Canadian fisheries is a candidate.”
Well, they did it. Last week Seafood Watch Red Listed Maine Lobster.
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.”
I know it’s sacrilegious to live in New England and not love Lobstah, but I’m not that into it. I am, however, into poking goofy California Green Groups.
This ‘non-profit’ may be sitting on 432 million dollars in assets. There appears to be an associated Trust with another 1.9 million, a research institute (133.8 million), and a Support Service (26.7 million).
Maine has a seafood watch of its own. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (29 million). No red listing from them, just the folks from California.
So, what to do?
I’m sure the Right Whale, the object of the red list, deserves a chance but human beings, a lot of them, rely on Maine lobster to make a living. The US lobster industry is worth about 900 million. And the industry itself (naturally) claims the red listing is unwarranted.
Members of the lobster fishing industry, which is also coping with increased federal fishing restrictions to protect the whales, pushed back against the Seafood Watch rating. The lobster industry in Maine, where most of the U.S.’s lobster comes to land, has not had a documented interaction with a right whale in almost two decades, said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
“Lobster is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world due to the effective stewardship practices handed down through generations of lobstermen. These include strict protections for both the lobster resource and right whales,” McCarron said.
I can’t speak to those details, but when asked to choose between the fishing industry and some well-heeled California green group, that’s an easy choice.
We’re red listing “Seafood Watch.” (/snicker.)
