Lobster industry fights back against defamation and harmful listings.

A coalition of lobster businesses and industry groups from Maine filed a federal lawsuit against the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, accusing the environmental group of defamation. The lawsuit argues that the foundation has made defamatory statements about Maine lobster fishing practices, misleading consumers and commercial lobster buyers about the state's lobster harvest. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program downgraded Maine lobster from "good alternative" to "avoid," citing risks the state's fishery poses to endangered North Atlantic right whales. The coalition argues that the rating and subsequent move from Whole Foods would threaten the state's massive, small business-dominate lobster industry.