Monterey Bay Aquarium Court Case Dismissed

In October the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in a defamation case brought by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), Bean Maine Lobster, Inc., the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Lobster and Processing, and the fishing vessel Bug Catcher.

The court disagreed with a district court’s earlier interpretation of what constituted “group defamation” rule. The three judges found that Maine lobstermen cannot prove harm to their individual businesses and that the case should return to the lower court to be dismissed.

“The MLA is deeply disappointed by the federal appeals court decision to dismiss the lawsuit against the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The court dismissed our case, but it did not validate the Aquarium’s claims about Maine lobster. Those are two very different things,” the Association said in a press release.

“Maine lobstermen have made significant and costly changes to their fishing practices to protect right whales. Consumers can feel proud choosing Maine lobster, from a fishery with a long history of responsible stewardship and a strong commitment to right whale conservation.”

The lobster industry representatives sued Monterey Bay Aquarium in March 2023 after the aquarium’s Seafood Watch program placed the Maine lobster fishery on its “red list” of seafood species consumers should not buy. The aquarium stated that the Maine lobster fishery posed a threat to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The MLA and fellow plaintiffs argued that the aquarium made defamatory statements against the lobster fishery that caused them economic harm. They stated that the price of lobster sank by 40% after the fishery was put on the “red list.” Some retailers, including Whole Foods, stopped offering Maine lobster in their stores as a result.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium filed to have the MLA’s case dismissed in 2025 but U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock declined to do so. The Aquarium appealed that decision.

The Appeals Court judges disagreed with the lower court’s application of the “group defamation rule.” The court ruling found that the Aquarium’s statements “are not actionable.” Statements made about a generalized group are protected speech, meaning the aquarium’s criticisms of the lobster industry as a whole cannot be defamation.