Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program is proposing to add several fisheries to its “Red List,” a grouping of seafood products consumers should avoid because the ways they’re harvested impact other species or the environment.
Through the end of February 2022, the program is taking public comments on 14 draft assessments on fisheries in the U.S., Canada and Brazil. The assessments include North American lobster in both U.S. and Canadian fisheries.
The U.S. lobster fisheries in particular pose problems for the North Atlantic right whale, according to the assessment.
“Seafood Watch recommends to 'Avoid' American lobster caught by trap from the Southern New England stock due to population depletion, risks to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, and insufficient measures for reducing these risks,” the draft assessment states.
A similar recommendation was offered for lobsters caught between Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.
According to Oceana, there are only about 330 right whales in the ocean, and that includes less than 100 females of breeding age. Their greatest threat, according to environmentalists, is encounters with fishermen and their gear. A Seafood Watch release states that more than 80 percent of right whales have been entangled at least once in some type of fishing gear.
The Maine lobster fishery has been embroiled in a long-term battle over NOAA regulations intended to help protect right whales that have called for bans on fishing in certain areas and the reduction of vertical trap lines. Fishermen and other organizations have objected to the rules and accusations that the fishery harms whales, citing a lack of evidence that the fishery is involved with any right whale impacts.
If the new Seafood Watch proposals are adopted, the fisheries would be added to lists used by such businesses as Whole Foods, Red Lobster, and Disney to guide their purchasing protocols for sourcing responsibly-caught seafood products.
Oceana Senior Campaign Manager Gib Brigran praised the announcement from Seafood Watch.
“Every vertical fishing line and gillnet is a risk to the remaining North Atlantic right whales, which can cause entanglements around their mouths, fins, and tails; make it difficult for them to swim and feed; cause life-threatening infections; and sever their fins and tails,” Brogan said. “To give this species a fighting chance, we must reduce the number of vertical lines and gillnets in the water. Inaction has consequences, as demonstrated by these draft assessments from Seafood Watch. Until fishery managers take their responsibility to save North Atlantic right whales seriously and enact meaningful protections, seafood retailers, consumers, and restaurants might be taking seafood from these fisheries off the menu.”
The complete list of assessments from Seafood Watch is available here. Public comments will be accepted by the organization through the end of February.
Photo courtesy of marla dawn studio/Shutterstock
