Whole Foods said it would stop buying Maine lobsters because of concerns from environmental groups that the whales are getting entangled in fishing gear.
The decision prompted a quick response from Maine's congressional delegation and governor who questioned the science behind it and urged Whole Foods to reverse course.
Whole Foods decided to stop selling wild-caught seafood after two groups that it relies on to certify thesustainability of its seafood lowered their ratings for Maine lobster.
The Marine Stewardship Council decided to stop certifying lobster from the Gulf of Maine due to the decline in the right whale population.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the North Atlantic right whales were almost hunted to extinction by 19th century whalers. The leading causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths were fishing gear and vessel strikes, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Whole Foods mentioned the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In September, the group assigned a red rating to American lobster, warning consumers not to eat it if it is caught with ropes that canentangle whales.
Whole Foods only sells wild-caught seafood that is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council or rated either "green" or "yellow" by Seafood Watch.
The integrity of our standards for wild-caught seafood found in our seafood department is dependent on third-party verifications and ratings.
Whole Foods will stop buying Maine lobster on December 15th, but it is not pulling the product from stores at the moment.
The company said it wasn't singling out Maine lobster, but rather upholds a standard for responsible source that it put in place for all wild-caught seafood in 2012 If the Marine Stewardship Council changed its assessment, it would resume buying Maine lobster.
Whole Foods is closely monitoring the situation and will work with suppliers and advocacy groups as it develops.
Four members of Maine's congressional delegation and the state's governor criticized the decision to stop buying Maine lobster.
The statement said that they were disappointed by Whole Foods decision and that they were frustrated by the suspension of the lobster industry's certificate of sustainable harvesting.
There had never been a right whale death attributed to Maine lobster gear, according to the statement. It said that Mainers who fish for lobster have a 150-year history of sustainable fishing.
The Marine Stewardship Council, with retailers following suit, wrongly and blindly decided to follow the recommendations of misguided environmental groups. Retailers and the Marine Stewardship Council are urged to rethink their decisions.
Jane P. Davenport is a lawyer with the Defenders of Wildlife. She said it was hard to know where the whales died because most were found with ropes.
Ms. Davenport wants industry leaders, regulators and others to adopt new technology that will allow lobster traps to be retrieved without a rope suspended in the water.
It is not easy, but it is doable, according to Ms. Davenport, whose group has been involved in a lawsuit.
In July, a federal court sided with Defenders of Wildlife and other groups, finding that federal regulators had violated the marine mammal protection act when they issued rules last year. The court found that federal officials had violated the law.
The Marine Stewardship Council pointed to the federal court ruling when explaining why it was suspending its certificate of sustainable lobster production. According to the council, an outside group found no evidence that the lobster fishing in Maine was to blame for right whale encounters.
Climate-driven changes in habitats and food sources have led to more interactions between right whales, fishing gear and shipping vessels.
The council said that the situation was of grave concern to the fishing industry and the M.S.C.
The executive director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative said she didn't know how much the Whole Foods decision would affect the lobster industry. Whole Foods didn't give sales figures for its products. Ms. LaCroix said that they don't want to lose any partners.
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