Whole Foods says it will stop selling Gulf of Maine Lobster following the fishery’s loss of two certifications for environmental sustainability.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the supermarket chain announced Monday it will no longer sell the lobster at its nearly 500 stores nationwide.
It comes after the London-based Marine Stewardship Council announced last week that it would suspend the fishery’s certification of sustainability starting Dec. 15.
In Sept., a California-based program called Seafood Watch added the U.S. lobster fishery to its “red list” of seafood to avoid.
In Maine, the downgraded the sustainability ratings center around the industry’s impact on endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.
It comes amid a legal battle over new federal regulations aimed at protecting the whales.
Maine’s lobster men and women argue that the restrictions will bury their industry, and there has never been a right whale death attributed to Maine lobster gear.
