Appeals court says fishermen’s claim in lobster defamation suit raises First Amendment questions
Summary
A federal appeals court is reviewing a lawsuit filed by lobster fishermen against the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The fishermen claim the aquarium’s Seafood Watch program defamed them by placing lobster on a “do-not-eat” list due to threats lobsters’ fishing gear pose to whales, raising questions about free speech.Key Facts
- The lawsuit is brought by New England fishing businesses and trade groups against a California aquarium.
- Seafood Watch added American and Canadian lobster to its “red list” in 2022, advising people not to eat it.
- The red listing was due to the risk lobster fishing gear poses to endangered whales like the North Atlantic right whale.
- The lobster industry argues the claim is false and harms their business by wrongly blaming them for threats to whales.
- A federal appeals judge expressed concern that the case could limit free speech rights under the First Amendment.
- Some major retailers stopped selling lobsters from the Gulf of Maine after the red listing.
- In 2023, Maine fishermen caught over 78 million pounds of lobster worth more than $460 million.
- The aquarium says Seafood Watch did not specifically name the plaintiffs in the report and declined further comment.
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