The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) and industry allies recently scored a court victory against the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, allowing a lawsuit over the “red” listing of lobster to move forward.
The MLA and several other plaintiffs in the lobster industry – including Bean Maine Lobster Inc., the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Atwood Lobster LLC, and Bug Catcher Inc., owned by Gerry Cushman, a sixth-generation fisherman from Port Clyde, Maine, U.S.A. – sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation for defamation in March 2023. According to the plaintiffs, the Monterey bay Aquarium Foundation’s downgrade of Maine-caught lobster from a cautionary “yellow” to a “red” rating in its Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Program list caused economic hardship and damage to the Maine lobster brand.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock recently issued a 137-page ruling denying that effort in a victory for the MLA.
“This ruling is a crucial step in holding the Monterey Bay Aquarium accountable for misleading statements that have unfairly targeted our industry,” MLA Executive Director Patrice McCarron said. “Maine lobstermen have been stewards of the ocean for generations, and we are committed to defending our livelihood against baseless claims.”
The lawsuit alleges that the aquarium “knowingly ignored and mischaracterized scientific data to convince the public that, despite their sustainable practices, Maine lobstermen are causing harm to endangered North Atlantic right whales.”
The Maine lobster industry ran into issues related to right whales in 2020, when U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rules governing the lobster fishery were inadequate to meet Marine Mammal Protection Act standards. The NMFS then introduced new rules, which the judge found were inadequate again in 2022.
Alongside the court cases the lobster industry has had to deal with having its Marine Stewardship Council certification suspended. The lobster fishery ultimately decided to withdraw from the recertification process.
According to the lobster industry, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation’s listing added to its troubles.
“This decision led consumers to believe the Aquarium’s false narrative that Maine lobstermen do not use sustainable fishing practices and resulted in a loss of customers for Maine lobster, including Whole Foods, which announced in November 2022 that it would stop buying Maine lobster,” the MLA said.
In its motion to dismiss, the foundation argued for a different jurisdiction for the lawsuit, that the lawsuit qualified for Maine’s anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) regulations, and that the effort constituted a “prior restraint” on the foundation’s free speech.
Woodcock apparently disagreed with Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation’s efforts to dismiss, and said because the MLA was suing about a past action and not to prevent future ones, the lawsuit did not violate any free speech rights.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, in its response to MLA’s lawsuit, said it stands behind the decision and the science that it used to make it. Since the original lawsuit, it has also submitted more data which it said proves it made the right decision – including a proven link between the entanglement death of a right whale and Maine lobster gear.
