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Business & Economy15 outlets ran this4 min read

US appeals court questions lobster industry defamation case against Monterey Bay Aquarium

Judges raise First Amendment concerns over lawsuit by New England fishing groups over Seafood Watch's 2022 red list

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
US appeals court questions lobster industry defamation case against Monterey Bay Aquarium

What this story says

  • A US appeals court suggested it may not allow a defamation lawsuit by New England fishing groups against Monterey Bay Aquarium to proceed, citing First Amendment concerns.
  • The lawsuit centres on Seafood Watch's 2022 decision to place lobster on its 'red list' of seafood to avoid due to threats to North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear entanglement.
  • Maine's lobster industry reported 78 million pounds of catch in 2025, valued at over $460 million (US dollars) at the docks.
  • No right-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports below.

Who covered it

Left 53%(8)Centre 47%(7)Right 0%(0)

Percentages are shares of the 15 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .

Trust

70/100

Craft

65/100

Hype

15/100

15 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

None of the 15 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

A federal appeals court in Boston indicated on 26 July 2026 that it might block a defamation lawsuit brought by New England fishing industry businesses and trade groups against Monterey Bay Aquarium. The case turns on the aquarium’s Seafood Watch programme, which in 2022 placed American and Canadian lobster on its 'red list' of seafood to avoid.

Judge Seth Aframe, one of the appellate judges, said during oral arguments that the case raised concerns 'from a First Amendment perspective'. He questioned whether the lawsuit qualified as a defamation claim, stating that broadening the class of potential plaintiffs could set a precedent allowing widespread litigation.

Seafood Watch listed lobster as unsustainable due to the risk of entanglement in fishing gear to North Atlantic right whales. The lobster industry, primarily based in Maine, has argued that the listing is defamatory and has caused economic harm. Industry representatives claim that other fisheries, such as the Canadian snow crab industry, pose greater threats to the whales.

Maine fishermen landed 78 million pounds of lobster in 2025, down from recent years but still worth more than $460 million (US dollars) at the docks. The industry is a key economic and cultural driver in the state.

What the coverage left out

None of the digests or reports below mention that no right-rated outlet carried the story. None of the digests included the industry’s claim that the whales faced greater threats from other fisheries, such as the Canadian snow crab fishery, though the full reports from Washington Top News and the Associated Press did.

Tags:#USAppealsCourt#LobsterIndustry#SeafoodWatch#FirstAmendment#NorthAtlanticRightWhale#MaineEconomy

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 5 Aug 2026, 19:45, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

8 rated outlets

  • The five left-rated digests below all led on the appeals court’s First Amendment concerns. All carried the judge’s statement that the case did not strike him as a defamation claim. All mentioned the 2022 Seafood Watch red list and the threat to North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear entanglement.
  • The Associated Press report, printed in full, also included the industry’s argument that the listing had caused economic harm and that other fisheries posed greater threats to the whales. It quoted Kevin Lipson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, who accused Monterey Bay Aquarium of hiding countervailing evidence. The report noted that major retailers, including Whole Foods, had stopped selling Gulf of Maine lobster after the red listing.

Centre

7 rated outlets

  • The four centre-rated digests all led on the appeals court’s signal that it might not allow the lawsuit to proceed due to First Amendment concerns. All mentioned the 2022 Seafood Watch red list and the industry’s claim of economic harm.
  • Washington Top News, whose full report is printed below, included the judge’s comment that the case felt troubling from a First Amendment perspective. It quoted the industry’s argument that the whales faced greater threats from other fisheries, including the Canadian snow crab fishery. The report also noted that Seafood Watch is widely cited by restaurants and stores, and that some retailers had stopped carrying Gulf of Maine lobster after the red listing.

Right

0 rated outlets

No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.

Read it at the source

15 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

8

Centre

7

Right

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

Not rated

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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US appeals court questions lobster industry defamation case | MediaBias News