Commentary by Samuel Strait – March 16, 2023 Maine Lobsters, so what is this all about? For the local fishing industry it could mean quite a lot. For decades local fishermen have been forced to comply with Sacramento government and the Church of Environmental extremism just to eek out a basic living. What once was a local and profitable economic industry that supported many of the local population, regulation, much of it spurred by environmental extremism, has made a once vibrant industry a pale shadow of what it once was. Gone is the ability for many local fishermen to make a comfortable living in fisheries that grace the North Coast, often closed by the ever growing burden of regulation and environmental groups pleading the case of "we must protect our oceans from the predatory practices of the commercial fishing fleet." In a recent effort on the part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, an extremely powerful environmental group, set their sights on the lobster fishermen of Maine nearly three thousand miles away from the source of their collective ire. This group regularly makes recommendations on where to obtain sea food for sea food buyers and restaurant chains. Recently they down graded Maine lobster to "avoid" due to its impact on North Atlantic Right Whales. The foundation claimed that using scientific data and a transparent science-based process, the Maine lobster fishery was responsible for decline of the Right Whale population in the North Atlantic. Since the publication of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation's report, the Maine Lobster Association has recorded a substantial decline in its formerly $700 million in sales. When the Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA) approached the Foundation for the "scientific data" it claimed to have, they received nothing in return. Fact of the matter, federal data has shown "no Right Whales having ever been recorded as to have died from entanglement in lobster fishery gear in Maine. In addition Maine lobster fishermen have been good stewards of the Atlantic, protecting their way of life well beyond what was necessary to protect ocean species from any dangers their gear might present. So, you might ask, where is the "beef"? It seems the MLA got tired of the Foundation's unwillingness to reveal the "scientific data" they claimed to be in possession of, and filed a defamation law suit in Court against the Foundation's blatant attempt to put them out of business. They hope with a positive result to eradicate the misinformation done by folks who are clueless about the care taken by lobstermen to protect the ecosystem and the ocean. This is a step that should be taken by many of the businesses, developers, and resource based enterprises that endure substantial economic loss due to the meritless practices of most environmental extremists. While the Foundation squawks about "freedom of speech" and seeking "to curtail First Amendment rights of a beloved institution", they seem oblivious to the weakness of their position. All over the United States and the World, people are waking up to the fact that environmentalism needs to reign it in and actually be stewards of the planet in order to continue to be relevant in a changing world. Gone is the formerly blank check to do as they have done in the past. Too often, claims by this "church" have not come to fruition and it is time to use the courts to make them pay for the damages they seem to dish out with very little consequence. Perhaps a few multi million dollar judgements way quell the ardor found in the "church".