A Whale of a Problem

Should sustainable seafood assessments care about human livelihoods?

- By Jackie Flynn Mogensen

The North Atlantic right whale isn't doing well. Fewer than 350 of these stocky creatures are thought to remain-and their numbers are shrinking. In the last six years, vessel strikes, entanglements in fishing gear, and unknown causes have killed or injured at least 92 animals, putting the whales at risk of disappearing forever.

To help save the species, two major environmental groups have urged consumers to rethink their seafood choices, particularly lobster: Last fall, the Marine Stewardship Council, the world's largest seafood eco-label, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, a popular US-based seafood guide, ruled that Maine lobster was no longer rated "sustainable" or considered a "good alternative" due to the risk the fishery-and its vertical fishing lines, which run from a float on top to a trap on the seabed floor-poses to right whales. In response, meal kit company HelloFresh pulled lobster from its menus, and Whole Foods announced it would temporarily stop selling lobster fished in the Gulf of Maine.