Escape claws: EU considers banning North American lobsters as invasive species

The European Union is a step closer to banning the importation of lobsters from the US and Canada after a scientific panel concluded Sweden had raised valid points in its request to declare the American lobster an invasive species, to the dismay of fishermen across the Atlantic.

The opinion of the European Union’s Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species sets in motion a broader review that also will take into account the opinions of North American officials, who’ve criticised the proposal to ban American lobsters.

The international dispute started when Sweden announced it had found 32 American lobsters in the country’s waters earlier this year and that they pose a threat to native crustaceans. It is unclear if they had escaped after being caught elsewhere, if they had been released deliberately, or had made their way into Swedish waters naturally.

Lobstermen in the US and Canada, which together export US$200 million worth of lobster to EU countries each year, had hoped to stop the proposal before it moved any further.

The congressional delegation in Maine, the nation’s lobster leader, issued a statement saying the EU’s actions represent an “unnecessary overreaction that would have devastating economic effects on the American lobster industry that supports so many Mainers and their families.”

A spokesman for the European Union stressed that the scientific panel’s conclusion is considered preliminary. The full review won’t be completed until spring at the earliest.