The industry is trying hard to have the state’s signature seafood certified as sustainable by an international organization that evaluates fishing practices worldwide. As the consumers demand for ‘green’ food products is increasing day by day, the lobster industry is eager to be certified so that it could not lose market. John Hathaway, owner of Shucks Maine Lobster processing company in Richmond, said that green label will open up a lot of markets for the lobster industry and if the industry fails it will probably lose markets.
It is fact that fisheries that are certified as “sustainable” can use the London-based Marine Stewardship Council’s blue ecolabel, a seal that assures consumers that the seafood was not overfished or harvested in a way that harms the ocean. Linda Bean, owner of Port Clyde Lobster, said that it is hard to ignore heavy-hitters like those. She added that if the green ecolabel is not obtained then the demand for Maine lobster will be greatly affected.
Governor John Baldacci has already appointed a task force to pursue the MSC certification for lobsters caught in Maine. Hathaway and Bean plan to soon start raising funds privately to pay for a third-party company to evaluate the harvesting practices, regulatory regime and science of the lobster fishery. It is said that this assessment will be submitted to the MSC for approval.
If approved the Maine lobster industry will join other certified fisheries that run the gamut from cod and haddock to shrimp and salmon. Among lobster, the Western Australia rock lobster and Mexican Baja California spiny lobster fisheries have been certified. It is true that Maine’s lobster fishery was valued at about $250 million last year and is regarded as a model fishery. Having an ecolabel certification would allow the industry to promote those harvest practices.
