Lobster fishermen can sue environmental group for defamation, judge says
3 weeks, 3 days ago

Lobster fishermen can sue environmental group for defamation, judge says

Associated Press  

SCARBOROUGH, Maine — A group of lobster fishermen can sue one of the world’s largest seafood watchdog groups for defamation, a federal court has ruled, over a report that described Maine lobster as an unwise choice for consumers. Seafood Watch, a conservation program operated by the aquarium, placed lobster from the U.S. and Canada on its do-not-eat “red list” in 2022. Judge John Woodcock ruled last month that the fishermen made a case that they suffered damage to their industry’s reputation as a result of the red-listing, after the aquarium made a bid in U.S. District Court in Maine to have the 2023 lawsuit tossed. Brown said the aquarium appealed “to protect our ability to share critical information with the public.” The Maine Lobstermen’s Association, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, described Woodcock’s decision as “significant” in a statement.

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History of this topic

Court steps in to protect whales from fishing gear - dashing hopes of fishermen seeking fewer regulations
Trending News
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Court steps in to protect whales from fishing gear - dashing hopes of fishermen seeking fewer regulations

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s …

Court restores protections for endangered whale species to prevent entanglement in fishing gear
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Court restores protections for endangered whale species to prevent entanglement in fishing gear

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Commercial fishermen who hoped for a loosening of fishing regulations during President Donald Trump’s administration faced a setback when a federal appeals court reinstated rules meant to protect a dwindling whale species from getting entangled in fishing gear. The appeals court decision “represents a major victory for right whale conservation,” said Jane Davenport, a senior attorney with …

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules scrapped amid strong opposition from lobstermen
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules scrapped amid strong opposition from lobstermen

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Fishing regulators on Friday scrapped a plan for stricter fishing rules amid concerns about a decline in baby lobsters in the warming waters off New England. Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, said in a statement Friday that the plan was pulled Thursday night “after hearing loud and clear from Maine lobster industry …

An environmental group files intent to sue a salmon farmer for pollution off Maine’s coast
4 months, 1 week ago

An environmental group files intent to sue a salmon farmer for pollution off Maine’s coast

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — An environmental organization has served a notice of intent to sue one of the world’s largest aquaculture companies for violations of the Clean Water Act in Maine — allegations the fish farmer ardently denies. Conservation Law Foundation contends Cooke Aquaculture’s salmon farming sites off the Maine coast pollute the state’s bays, where lobster fishing is a key …

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules delayed as species shows decline in babies
5 months ago

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules delayed as species shows decline in babies

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Maine Lobster Gear Linked To Endangered Whale Death
1 year, 1 month ago

Maine Lobster Gear Linked To Endangered Whale Death

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING For the first time, federal regulators have connected Maine’s signature lobster industry to the entanglement and death of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The animal, a 3-year-old female calf, was found washed ashore in late January on Martha’s Vineyard, off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with rope wrapped around and embedded in its tail — the result …

Lawsuit over California group’s do-not-eat listing for American lobster dismissed
1 year, 2 months ago

Lawsuit over California group’s do-not-eat listing for American lobster dismissed

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A California court has dismissed a lawsuit from a group of fishermen against a conservation group that added New England lobster to its list of seafood to avoid. The organization, based at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, said lobster fishing poses risk to the North Atlantic right whale because of entanglement in fishing gear. The fishermen, based …

Lobster fishers sue to block monitoring laws designed to help save a rare whale
1 year, 2 months ago

Lobster fishers sue to block monitoring laws designed to help save a rare whale

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A group of lobster fishermen has sued fishing regulators in federal court, claiming that new electronic monitoring requirements designed to protect rare whales are unconstitutional. The Maine Department of Marine Resources, which regulates fisheries in Maine, has promoted the new rule as a way to collect better data that can both benefit the fishery and help save …

Federal court sides with lobster fishers in whale protection case anchored off New England
1 year, 9 months ago

Federal court sides with lobster fishers in whale protection case anchored off New England

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal appeals court has sided with commercial fishermen who say proposed restrictions aimed at saving a vanishing species of whale could put them out of business. The appeals court ruling could mean that the federal government must take another stab at crafting new rules to protect the whales. The changes would represent a potential worst-case scenario …

Do-not-eat listing draws lawsuit from Maine lobster industry
2 years ago

Do-not-eat listing draws lawsuit from Maine lobster industry

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A coalition representing the Maine lobster industry is suing an aquarium on the other side of the country for recommending that seafood customers avoid buying a variety of lobster mostly harvested in their state. Industry groups including Maine Lobstermen’s Association are suing the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California for defamation, arguing in a lawsuit filed Monday that …

Lawmakers using spending bill to delay lobster restrictions
2 years, 3 months ago

Lawmakers using spending bill to delay lobster restrictions

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s congressional delegation is using the $1.7 trillion federal spending bill to try to delay for six years new protections for endangered whales to protect Maine’s lobster industry. Maine’s congressional delegation and Democratic governor presented a united front, saying the new rules would “not meaningfully protect” right whales while threatening the state’s signature fishery — and thousands …

Sustainability group pulls lobster certification over whales
2 years, 4 months ago

Sustainability group pulls lobster certification over whales

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — An international nonprofit organization that sets sustainability standards for commercial fishing management has suspended a certification it awarded Maine’s lobster industry over concerns about harm to whales. The organization said in a statement that the danger North Atlantic right whales face from entanglement in fishing gear is a “serious and tragic situation” of “grave concern to all …

Fishermen hire Bush-era official in challenge to whale laws
2 years, 5 months ago

Fishermen hire Bush-era official in challenge to whale laws

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine lobster fishermen have hired a former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice official to represent them in their case against new laws intended to protect whales. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is appealing its case against the new rules to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association also filed court …

Congressman wants to halt aquarium money after lobster spat
2 years, 5 months ago

Congressman wants to halt aquarium money after lobster spat

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A congressman from Maine said Wednesday he will file a proposal to withhold federal money from a California aquarium and conservation group that has recommended seafood consumers avoid buying lobster. Aquarium representatives also said most of the federal money cited by Golden went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a separate institution that partners with the …

Congressman wants to halt aquarium money after lobster spat
2 years, 5 months ago

Congressman wants to halt aquarium money after lobster spat

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A congressman from Maine said Wednesday he will file a …

Fishermen appeal judge ruling that protects endangered whale
2 years, 6 months ago

Fishermen appeal judge ruling that protects endangered whale

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — The state of Maine and a fishing group are appealing a federal judge’s decision that new rules intended to protect endangered whales must stand. The fishing group is “escalating its fight to save Maine’s lobstering heritage from a plan that the agency itself admits is not needed for the species to survive,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director …

Judge rules against fishermen bid to stop whale protections
2 years, 6 months ago

Judge rules against fishermen bid to stop whale protections

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal judge has denied a request from fishing groups that sought to challenge new fishing rules designed to protect rare whales. It’s the latest in a string of legal setbacks for lobster fishermen who are coping with increasingly strict fishing rules meant to save the whales. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said in a statement that it …

Retailers pull lobster from menus after ‘red list’ warning
2 years, 6 months ago

Retailers pull lobster from menus after ‘red list’ warning

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Some retailers are taking lobster off the menu after an assessment from an influential conservation group that the harvest of the seafood poses too much of a risk to rare whales and should be avoided. Seafood Watch, which rates the sustainability of different seafoods, said this week it has added the American and Canadian lobster fisheries to …

Court reinstates ban on lobster gear to protect right whales
2 years, 8 months ago

Court reinstates ban on lobster gear to protect right whales

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal circuit court has reinstated a ban on lobster fishing gear in a nearly 1,000-square-mile area off New England to try to protect endangered whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service issued new regulations last year that prohibited lobster fishing with vertical buoy lines in part of the fall and winter in the area, which is in …

Ban on lobster fishing to save whales is back, court rules
3 years, 4 months ago

Ban on lobster fishing to save whales is back, court rules

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A U.S. appeals court has reinstated a ban on lobster harvesting in hundreds of miles of productive fishing waters off the Maine coast to try to protect rare whales. Previously, the district court ruled there was not enough evidence the whales gather in the area with enough frequency to render it a whale “hot spot.” Fishermen must …

US lobster fisheries anxious over upcoming whale protections
3 years, 8 months ago

US lobster fisheries anxious over upcoming whale protections

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — The profitable U.S. lobster fishery will soon have to contend with new rules designed to protect an endangered species of whale, and that could necessitate major changes for people in the industry. Acting NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Paul Doremus said in June that the U.S. and Canada, which also harvests lobsters, must “take and sustain additional efforts …

Fishermen Sue Big Oil For Its Role In Climate Change
6 years, 3 months ago

Fishermen Sue Big Oil For Its Role In Climate Change

NPR  

Fishermen Sue Big Oil For Its Role In Climate Change Enlarge this image toggle caption Michael Melford/Getty Images Michael Melford/Getty Images While oil companies built seawalls and elevated their oil rigs to protect critical production infrastructure from the rising sea level, they concealed from the public the knowledge that burning fossil fuels could have catastrophic impacts on the biosphere. The …

Court: Ban seafood caught with nets that harm tiny porpoises
6 years, 8 months ago

Court: Ban seafood caught with nets that harm tiny porpoises

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — A judge has ordered the U.S. government to ban imports of seafood caught by Mexican fisheries that use a net blamed for killing off the vaquita, the world’s smallest and most-endangered porpoise. Judge Gary Katzmann, of The U.S. Court of International Trade, on Thursday granted a motion after three environmental groups filed a lawsuit seeking a ban …

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