A week after Seafood Watch, a California group based at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told consumers and businesses to "avoid" New England lobster because of what it says are threats to endangered right whales from fishing gear, people in Maine are still livid at what they see as an unfair designation.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a change.org petition submitted by the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative urging Seafood Watch to "reconsider" had more than 2,600 signatures, with hundreds of them being added in a matter of hours.
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Janet Mills, a fierce and vocal critic of the Seafood Watch change, released a letter she wrote to U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo calling on the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to slow its process of changing rules around lobster fishing regulation related to protecting right whales.
Mills criticized the federal agency for only holding a single virtual listening session for people in Maine’s lobster industry to weigh in on changes and called on Raimondo to direct NOAA to organize in-person meetings in the future.
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"NOAA is asking hardworking men and women to make unimaginable sacrifices, particularly in fisheries like the Maine lobster fishery which do not have a documented right whale serious injury or mortality," said Mills.
“The consequences of this action are simply too great to proceed at this breakneck pace absent the necessary information," she added.
Thousands of businesses consider Seafood Watch's recommendations and many have pledged to avoid any items that appear on the red list. Following the change last week, some have pulled lobster from their menus.
Asked for comment following criticism from Mills and Sen.Angus King during a Friday press conference, a spokesperson for Seafood Watch sent NECN/NBC 10 Boston a statement saying, "Seafood Watch stands by its science-based assessments" and referenced a recent federal court ruling it says "confirms that we used the best available science."
As of Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Mills administration said it did not appear that the Maine governor and Seafood Watch had corresponded in any way following Mills’ appearance at a press conference last Friday condemning the organization’s decision.
