{"id":6406,"date":"2026-08-05T17:37:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6406"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:37:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:37:03","slug":"court-says-fishermens-claim-in-lobster-defamation-suit-against-monterey-bay-aquarium-raises-first-amendment-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6406","title":{"rendered":"Court says fishermen\u2019s claim in lobster defamation suit against Monterey Bay Aquarium raises First Amendment questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

SCARBOROUGH, Maine \u2014 A federal appeals court signaled that it might not allow a lawsuit brought by fishing industry businesses and trade groups against a California aquarium to proceed because of the case\u2019s potential impact on free speech.<\/p>\n

Read more 49ers injury update: Journeymen added at defensive end, wide receiver<\/a><\/p>\n

The New England-based plaintiffs sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium for defamation after the aquarium\u2019s Seafood Watch conservation program placed American and Canadian lobster on its do-not-eat \u201cred list\u201d in 2022. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether the lawsuit can go forward.<\/p>\n

RELATED: New leader takes the helm at the Monterey Bay Aquarium<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the appellate judges, Judge Seth Aframe, said during oral arguments on July 26 that it doesn\u2019t strike him as a defamation claim and that he finds the case troubling \u201cfrom a First Amendment perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more you broaden the class of people that fall within this, the more it feels like everybody can sue,\u201d Aframe said.<\/p>\n

Seafood Watch placed lobster on its list of seafood to avoid because of the threat posed to rare whales, such as the North Atlantic right whale, by potential entanglement in fishing gear.<\/p>\n

The lobster fishing industry, based mostly in Maine, has pushed back, saying the claim inaccurately portrays it as a threat to whales and constitutes defamation that has caused economic harm. It claims that the whales face greater threats from other fishing industries, including the Canadian snow crab fishery.<\/p>\n

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Conservation groups have long made the case that lobster and crab fisheries are both dangerous to the whales, and government agencies have acknowledged that entanglement in fishing gear is a critical threat to the giant animals.<\/p>\n

Read more Everything-with-matcha cafe and dessert shop expanding to Palo Alto<\/a><\/p>\n

The industry is sticking to that claim despite the judges\u2019 comments during oral arguments, Kevin Lipson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonterey Bay Aquarium in their Seafood Watch report didn\u2019t disclose any of the countervailing evidence. In fact, they hid that evidence,\u201d Lipson said.<\/p>\n

Seafood Watch is one of the most cited sustainability reports about seafood, and many restaurants and stores use it to inform which products to carry. Some major retailers, including Whole Foods, announced they were pulling Gulf of Maine lobster after the red listing.<\/p>\n

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A representative for Monterey Bay Aquarium declined to comment Wednesday. During oral arguments, Amy Saharia, an attorney for the aquarium, said that Seafood Watch didn\u2019t single out any of the plaintiffs with a direct reference.<\/p>\n

The case has lingered because of ongoing legal machinations. A lower level federal court ruled last year that the lawsuit could proceed after the aquarium had requested it be tossed.<\/p>\n

Maine fishermen caught more than 78 million pounds (35 million kilograms) of lobster last year \u2014 a down year by the industry\u2019s recent standards. The crustaceans were worth more than $460 million at the docks and are a key piece of the economy and culture in the state.<\/p>\n

Read more Residents displaced, cats rescued in San Leandro apartment fire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New England-based plaintiffs sued for defamation after the aquarium\u2019s Seafood Watch conservation program placed American and Canadian lobster on its do-not-eat \u201cred list\u201d in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCourt says fishermen\u2019s claim in lobster defamation suit against Monterey Bay Aquarium raises First Amendment questions - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6406\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Court says fishermen\u2019s claim in lobster defamation suit against Monterey Bay Aquarium raises First Amendment questions - 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