ARTHUR SAWYER; JARRETT DRAKE; ) ERIC MESCHINO; and BILL SOUZA, ) on behalf of themselves and those similarly ) situated, v. MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM ) and MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL,
A group of Massachusetts-based lobster fishers filed a class action lawsuit against the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The suit alleges there is “minimal evidence” to support Monterey Bay Aquarium’s statements that lobster fishing in the Gulf of Maine is unsustainable due to its harm to endangered North Atlantic right whales. Those statements prompted MSC to drop the American Lobster from its list of sustainable foods, citing the danger to right whales, which in turn triggered Whole Foods, Hello Fresh, and Blue Apron to eliminate Gulf of Maine lobsters from their retail offerings. Plaintiffs are seeking class certification and monetary damages.
[To accompany Federal Court Case Law Update "Lobster Fishers Sue Monterey Bay Aquarium for Damages Over Comments Relating to Lobster Fishing Impacts on Endangered Whales" from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 180]