Letter to Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General of Enviroment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission - Sweden Ban of American Lobster

Letter

Dear Mr. Crespo,

As Ranking Member of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Europe, I write to express concern with the European Union's (EU) decision to move forward with consideration of Sweden's unfounded petition to prohibit the EU importation of the American lobster by listing it as an invasive alien species.

There is no scientific justification for Sweden's allegations that the American lobster is invading European waters. Isolated instances of several individual American lobsters found in EU waters over the past decade in no way constitutes the invasion of an alien species. Moreover, American lobsters are unable to reproduce in waters as warm as those off the coast of Europe, and there is no evidence that interbreeding American and European lobsters are able to produce fertile offspring.

The United States exports approximately $150 million in live lobsters to the EU each year. In my state of New Hampshire, our lobstermen catch annually as much as $23 million worth of lobster and support critical jobs in our coastal communities. An EU ban on American live lobster imports would cause cascading economic damage across the New England coastal economy.

Around the world, invasive species do pose legitimate threats to indigenous wildlife and sustainable fisheries, and I strongly support policies to strengthen ecosystems and ensure responsible and sustainable fisheries management. However, in this case, the science is clear that American lobsters are not an invasive species and pose no environmental threat to the European lobster.

I urge you to reject Sweden's economically harmful and scientifically baseless proposal. Thank you for your timely consideration of this important matter.

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