Steneck cited in media reports on EU review of lobster ban proposal
Robert Steneck, a marine biologist at the University of Maine’s School of Marine Sciences, was cited in an Associated Press article about the European Union extending its review of a Swedish proposal to ban lobsters imported from the U.S. and Canada. The EU announced it will conduct a more extensive review of the proposal after the Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species concluded Sweden raised valid points in its request to declare the American lobster an invasive species, according to the AP. The broader review also will take into account the opinions of North American officials, who have criticized the proposal to ban the lobsters, the article states. Steneck said American lobsters don’t pose a threat to European lobsters in part because winter ocean temperatures along the coasts of European countries are too warm for American lobsters to reproduce. He said the risk of American lobsters becoming invasive in Europe is “vanishingly small.”
“I doubt there is evidence that the American lobster can increase in abundance to the point it creates measurable harm to the ecosystem or to humans. Those are the criteria on which ‘invasive species’ are defined,” Steneck said. CBC News, The Toronto Star and Daily Mail carried the AP report. The Washington Post and The Globe and Mail also cited Steneck in reports on the proposal.