Major seafood importers take stand against dangerous lobster fishery

A paralayzed fisherman from diving for lobster in a manual cart in Puerto Lempira in Honduras during the iLCP Tripods in The Blue, Mesoamerica.

Major seafood importers in the United States are taking action to prevent Spiny Lobster caught by SCUBA divers in Honduras from entering their supply chains.

Signatories to the pledge which include the seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster and well known seafood brand Chicken of the Sea are recognizing that the use of SCUBA diving to harvest lobster threatens the safety and wellbeing of fishers in Honduras.

These concerned importers want to support the transition of these fishers to other safer fishing techniques and are leveraging their combined purchasing power to provide an incentive to establish and maintain high standards for environmental and social welfare in fisheries.

To confirm that the importers commitment is being upheld, traceability systems are being implemented to independently verify that the sea food they buy does not originate from boats using SCUBA divers.

The majority of lobster that is caught is exported to the United States. So U.S importers have the power to decide where to source their products. They are now forming a coalition to take action to prevent dive caught lobster from entering their supply chains.