Whole Foods Pissing Off Mainers With New No Maine Lobster Policy

Come on Whole Foods!

Whole Foods has decided to stop buying Maine lobsters at any of its stores across the country. This whole mess is over wording and Maine losing its sustainability certification by the Marine Stewardship Council based in London. Everyone is disappointed with Whole Foods' decision because of the certification loss. And yes, it all goes back to the North Atlantic right whale!

The Marine Stewardship Council is an internationally recognized certifying body for sustainable fisheries. They say they will drop the sustainability certification for Gulf of Maine lobster, effective Dec. 15, because of concerns about the fishery's impact on endangered North Atlantic right whales. The Gulf of Maine lobster fishery was first certified in December 2016.

Whole Foods said in a statement that they will start selling lobsters from the Gulf of Maine once the Marine Stewardship Council suspension is lifted.

The Gulf of Maine lobster fishery was downgraded in September by Seafood Watch, a ratings program owned and operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California. It's now classified as a seafood you should avoid because of the potential danger to North Atlantic right whales getting caught in the fishing gear. Maine Lobster (a collaborative) said that there hasn't been an incident with lobster gear getting caught up with a right whale since 2004 and no whale has ever died because of Maine lobster equipment. Maine Lobster has been working to educate the public with videos and fact sheets.

Maine Lobster told Maine Biz that the fishermen themselves are compliant with all state and federal regulations and have spent 25 years making their gear safer for North Atlantic right whales.

They are fighting the report and had an independent auditor do their own evaluation of the fishery earlier this year and determined that Maine lobster is a well-managed and sustainable fishery. Most retailers, buyers, and patrons are standing with Maine lobstermen (and women) and continuing to buy Maine lobsters.

Maine's congressmen and women and Governor Janet Mills say they are frustrated with Whole Foods' decision. They released a joint statement that said in part...

We are disappointed ... and deeply frustrated that the Marine Stewardship Council’s suspension of the lobster industry’s certificate of sustainability continues to harm the livelihoods of hardworking men and women up and down Maine’s coast. We strongly urge the Marine Stewardship Council and retailers to reconsider their potentially devastating decisions.

This is not what this industry and the men and women who work so hard need right before the holidays. Government overreach is ridiculous. Let's hope they reverse this decision and Whole Foods puts Maine lobsters back in their stores!