August 3, 2026 — A lawsuit launched by the Maine lobster industry against the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation appeared before the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals on 27 July, and judges were reportedly concerned about its impact to First Amendment protections.
A coalition of Maine lobstermen including Bean Maine Lobster Inc., the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Atwood Lobster LLC, and Bug Catcher Inc. sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation (MBAF) over its red listing of Maine-caught lobster. The listing was part of a complicated back-and-forth over the Maine lobster industry’s alleged impact on the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species.