In the wake of a high-end retail decision, environmental groups in New England are again at odds with fishermen and politicians Whole Foods To stop selling Maine lobster.
Whole Foods Recently, it was stated that it will stop selling lobster The Gulf of Maine It has hundreds of stores across the country. The company cited two sustainability organizations as reasons for its decisions. take away their endorsements U.S. lobster The fishing industry
Seafood Watch and Marine Stewardship Council raised concerns about the dangers to North Atlantic right whales that fishing gear could pose. The biggest threat to the whales is entanglement in gear.
The decision was made by Whole Foods This was an “important action to protect the highly endangered” whale, said Virginia Carter, an associate with the Save America’s Wildlife Campaign at Environment America Research & Policy Center.
“With fewer than 340 North Atlantic right whales in existence, the species is swimming toward extinction unless things turn around,” Carter stated.
Whole Foods said in a statement last week that it’s monitoring the situation and “committed to working with suppliers, fisheries, and environmental advocacy groups as it develops.”
The company’s decision to stop selling lobster drew immediate criticism in Maine, which is home to the U.S.’s largest lobster The fishing industry. The state’s Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, and its four-member congressional delegation said in a statement that Marine Stewardship Council’s decision to suspend its certification of Gulf of Maine lobster This happened despite years spent protecting whales and stewardship. Maine fishermen.
“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,” Mills and the delegation spoke out.
Whole Foods It wasn’t the first retailer to offer this service. lobster Over concerns about sustainability, the company has taken the menu off the menu. HelloFresh, a meal kit company, was one of the many. retailers to pledge to stop selling lobster September after California-based Seafood Watch has placed Canadian and American seafoods lobster Fisheries on it “red list” There are many seafoods you should avoid.
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