# US appeals court questions lobster defamation lawsuit against aquarium 2026-08-07T03:41:19+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals has questioned whether a defamation lawsuit against California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium can proceed, citing free speech concerns, Hindustan Times reports. Maine fishing businesses and trade groups sued after the aquarium’s Seafood Watch programme put American and Canadian lobster on its 2022 do-not-eat red list. The programme cited entanglement risks to North Atlantic right whales. The industry says the listing falsely portrays lobster fishing as a whale threat and caused economic harm, while conservation groups and government agencies identify fishing gear entanglement as a serious danger. A lower court allowed the case to proceed last year. Maine fishermen landed over 78 million pounds of lobster last year, worth more than $460 million at the docks. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com Tags: free speech, lobster fishing, Seafood Watch, US courts, whales Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/us-appeals-court-questions-lobster-defamation-lawsuit-against-aquarium/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/us-appeals-court-questions-lobster-defamation-lawsuit-against-aquarium/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.