Response from Monterey Bay Aquarium on calls to reverse recent Seafood Watch red ratings

The Maine Congressional Delegation and Governor of Maine issued a letter calling on Seafood Watch to reverse the science-based Red Rating for American Lobster. Monterey Bay Aquarium sent the following letter in reply.

October 5, 2022

To:
The Honorable Janet Mills, Governor, State of Maine
The Honorable Susan Collins, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Angus King, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Chellie Pingree, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Jared Golden, U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Governor Mills, Senator Collins, Senator King, Representative Pingree, and Representative Golden,

On behalf of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Board of Trustees, we are writing in response to your request to reverse the Seafood Watch™ red rating of the American lobster trap/pot fishery in Maine. We appreciate your attention to this matter, as well as the technical input you and your staff provided throughout our two-year process of soliciting the best available, science-based information to develop our final assessment. We acknowledge the complex challenges ahead, and the need for urgent government action to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale and ensure the fishery complies with federal law. 

The Seafood Watch program was developed 20 years ago in response to questions from the public about the environmental impacts associated with seafood production. We evaluate fisheries and aquaculture supplying the U.S. market against our standards using a thorough science-based assessment process. The resulting seafood ratings raise awareness around the impacts of these activities on our ocean so that consumers and businesses can make informed choices when purchasing seafood. The ratings also highlight fisheries and aquaculture that are successfully implementing an ecosystem-based approach to production and management. 

In assessing the American lobster trap/pot fishery, Seafood Watch reviewed all publicly available data, including the latest government stock assessments, peer-reviewed science, and all state and federal management measures. Taken together, the information showed current measures do not go far enough to meet the legal requirements of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Specifically, NOAA determined that current Canadian and U.S. approaches would allow impacts from fishing entanglement to continue at levels at least five times higher than the North Atlantic right whale population could withstand (Hayes et al. 2022; NMFS 2021; NOAA 2022).

This conclusion was further supported by a U.S. District Court ruling in July 2022 and the September 8, 2022 announcement by NOAA Fisheries stating that in order to meet legal requirements, additional risk reduction is needed in all East Coast gillnet and trap/pot fisheries regulated under the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. 

Given these scientific and legal findings, Monterey Bay Aquarium is maintaining our red ratings for all Canadian and U.S. fisheries that use gear with vertical lines that risk entanglement with the endangered North Atlantic right whale, including American lobster. We have posted additional information on our website to help address Frequently Asked Questions associated with this assessment and other impacted fisheries. 

We are committed to updating the Seafood Watch assessments as measures are designed and implemented that quickly reduce the risk of serious injury and death to the endangered North Atlantic right whale caused by entanglement in fishing gear, including reducing risks below the federally prescribed potential biological removal (PBR) level and meeting all legal requirements of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

We look forward to following progress on this issue as new information develops, and to continued progress toward our goal to ensure a future with healthy ocean ecosystems, which sustain thriving fisheries and coastal communities.

Sincerely,

Julie Packard
Executive Director

Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly
Vice President, Global Ocean Conservation

About Monterey Bay Aquarium

With a mission to inspire conservation of the ocean, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most admired aquarium in the United States, a leader in science education, and a voice for ocean conservation through comprehensive programs in marine science and public policy. Everything we do works in concert to protect the future of our blue planet. More information at MontereyBayAquarium.org.