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.”