Posted on 11/29/2022 9:03:30 AM PST by Red Badger
Whole Foods angered elected officials by announcing its plans to cease buying Maine lobsters after climate change groups downgraded the North Atlantic fishing area’s sustainability rating.
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills and its Congressional delegation sent a note to Whole Foods expressing their “disappointment” in the grocery store giant’s decision to stop buying Maine lobsters, according to the official letter Nov. 22. Whole Foods made the decision after the organizations (Marine Stewardship Council and Seafood Watch) it uses to determine its sustainability ratings downgraded Maine lobster to “the worst rating,” reported The New York Times.
“We are disappointed by Whole Foods’ decision 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,” the Maine officials stated.
The statement cited the “150-year history of sustainability” as proof that Maine fishermen have “consistently demonstrated their commitment to protecting right whales” and denounced the accusations that right whale deaths can be attributed to Maine fishery.
“Despite this, the Marine Stewardship Council, with retailers following suit, wrongly and blindly decided to follow the recommendations of misguided environmental groups rather than science,” the letter continued. “We strongly urge the Marine Stewardship Council and retailers to reconsider their potentially devastating decisions.”
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) suspended its sustainability certificate for Maine lobster on Nov. 16, claiming to have concerns that fishermen’s nets and other gear were entangling North Atlantic right whales, endangering the population. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cited that boats and fishing gear account for the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths, reported The New York Times. According to the most recent audit of the Maine lobster fishery certification, MSC found no evidence that the North Atlantic lobster fishery was responsible for “entanglements or interactions with right whales.”
Guess democrats don’t like it when their green agenda starts hitting their wallets....shocked.
In the good ol’ days, I used to tell hippie chicks that I was an engineer in charge of designing nuclear powered whaling stations
We have those little Florida Lobsters here................
Excellent point
I guess they never considered that the bureaucracy they created would ever rule against them..................
Lobsters are fished with “pots,” not nets. The lobster pots are wire-frame baited cages with one-way doors and identification floats.
Not nets.
[[The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cited that boats and fishing gear account for the leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths]]
We will require photos of each dead whale to back up that claim- but even at that=- they will likely find dead whales, and entangle them in old fishing gear and falsely claim the gear killed them-
it’s my guess that the leading causes of death are old age and diseases-
lagostinos...i have some in the freezer. Might just buy some Monk Fish as an alternative.
Credit where credit is due. On this issue, Maine's Democratic governor is fighting for the right side.
On a side note......I wouldn’t go into a whole foods to throw up...
Where’s the “HA-HA” guy meme?
People have tried raising lobsters in captivity but for some reason it doesn’t work like shrimp and crayfish.
Some Australian guys have had some moderate success with a small lobster relative from that at area but the Holy Grail is the North Atlantic Lobster...............
The claim is that the lines from the traps to the buoys is what’ snaring the whales. However, there’s only one case of a right whale getting tangled in a line and that wasn’t off the Maine coast. The alternative is to use some sort of system (expensive) that eliminates the lines. That would then restrict lobstering to large concerns as the typical lobsterman wouldn’t have the resources to acquire the gear.
Was it a lobster trap?
We have one in Destin, but have only been there once when it first opened, about ten years ago...........
I don’t get why Whole Foods inventory is of interest. Everyone else can sell lobsters and take up the slack.
I don’t know, but every trap has s static line attached.
People can AFFORD lobster these days? Who knew? ;)
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