By Annie RothThe group says that the shellfish, long considered a more responsible choice, cannot be considered a guilt-free meal anymore.
Seafood Watch red-listed American lobsters, which are fished off Maine, Canada’s maritime provinces and other parts of the Northwest Atlantic.Credit...Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press
American lobster may be a beloved and delicious splurge, but it is no longer a sustainable seafood choice and consumers should avoid eating it, according to Seafood Watch, a group that monitors how fish and other seafood are harvested from the world’s oceans.
The organization made the announcement last week, motivated by concerns that the ropes used to fish for lobsters and some other seafoods often entangle critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The marine mammal’s population has fallen to the low hundreds, and federal wildlife authorities say it faces extinction in the near future.
Seafood Watch is part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and provides scientific guidance to businesses, including formal partnerships with some of the country’s major seafood buyers, about what seafood they sell to customers. The organization also provides seafood recommendations directly to consumers. Its credit card-size seafood purchasing guides can be found sitting next to packets of oyster crackers or stacks of wet wipes at seafood markets and in restaurants across the country.
Seafood Watch put American lobster, as well as some species of crab and fish, on its red list because of the effect fishing for the species has on North Atlantic right whales.
The organization hopes that telling people to avoid American lobster, which is harvested off Maine, Canada’s maritime provinces and in other parts of the Northwest Atlantic, will raise awareness about the right whale’s condition and put pressure on fishery managers and lawmakers to do more to protect the imperiled mammals.
