A powerful environmentalist group in California is being sued by Maine lobstermen and industry groups for lying about the impact that lobstermen have on right whale populations offshore.
The California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation makes recommendations for seafood buyers and restaurant chains on where to purchase products. Last year, the foundation downgraded Maine lobster from “good alternative” to “avoid” because of the impact Maine lobster fisherman have on right whale populations.
“They conducted this inquiry, this analysis, based on what they characterized as all scientific data and a rigorous and transparent science-based process. But the facts are just the opposite,” Kevin Lipson, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “The facts are that Maine lobster fishing practices have actually contributed to the sustainability not only of the lobster fishery, but of North Atlantic right whales.”
Lipson added that the coalition had contacted the Monterey Bay Aquarium twice, asking for their data showing Maine lobstermen threatened right whales. He said the request was ignored, forcing them to ultimately file the lawsuit.
“The truth is that Maine lobstermen have engaged in innovative practices that have actually contributed to the survivability of the right whale,” Lipson said.
Right whales are menaced with extinction by far bigger threats than a few hundred lobster fishermen. Nevertheless, the Maine lobstermen have taken pains to be responsible stewards of the sea.
“They’ve removed 30,000 miles of rope from the ocean, they have areas where they don’t fish, they’ve limited the number of traps, they’ve initiated weakened ropes — that any species that goes through the ropes can break away,” Lipson added. “And it is those innovations that have actually contributed to the survivability and the sustainability of the right whale.”
“Lobstermen have been under constant assault for the past several years. Yet the science is clear — right whales are not dying in Maine lobster gear,” Patrice McCarron, the Maine Lobster Association’s (MLA) policy director, said in a statement. “In fact, the opposite is true; innovations by Maine lobstermen have been instrumental in minimizing harm to whales.”
According to MLA, federal data shows that there has never been a recorded right whale death caused by lobster fishing equipment in Maine.
The Maine lobster fleet is made up of hundreds of small boats, each individually owned and operated according to state law. But collectively, the industry generates more than $700 million in annual sales and provides the U.S. with about 90% of its lobster supply,
John Petersdorf, the CEO of Bean Maine Lobster Inc., said the lawsuit would help eradicate the “damage done by folks who have no clue about the care taken by lobstermen to protect the ecosystem and the ocean.”
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, though, blasted the lawsuit as “meritless” and said there was evidence lobster fishing equipment posed risks to right whales.
“These meritless lawsuits ignore 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,” a spokesperson for the group told Fox News Digital.
Cry me a river. Stop trying to bully hardworking Americans into giving up jobs their families have been doing for hundreds of years.
It’s interesting that the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation would claim that the lobster industry poses “a serious risk to the survival of the endangered North Atlantic right whale” when it refuses to share the scientific “evidence” that would make the lawsuit moot.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member