The White House was set to serve butter-poached Maine lobster at a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, but one Democratic lawmaker has taken issue with the menu choice.
“If the Biden White House can prioritize purchasing 200 Maine lobsters for a fancy dinner, @POTUS should also take the time to meet with the Maine lobstermen his administration is currently regulating out of business,” Representative Jared Golden, who represents Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, tweeted Wednesday evening.
The White House ordered 200 of the crustaceans, Portland, Maine, TV station WCSH reported, to serve at what will be the first state dinner since President Joe Biden took office. First lady Jill Biden previewed the state dinner on Wednesday, saying that chefs had prepared “such a thoughtful menu for this event,” although she did not mention the lobster.
While lobster may not seem like a controversial choice for this important event, its prime spot on the state dinner menu comes as the Maine lobster industry is possibly facing a significant change because of federal regulations.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced new regulations last year for lobster and Jonah crab trap and pot fisheries operating in the Northeastern U.S. These regulations, which include mandating fewer lines in the water and weakening those that remain, are aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale from entanglements.
The NOAA said that entanglement in commercial fishing gear was a major risk for right whales, although no right whale deaths are known to have been caused by Maine lobster fishing gear, WCSH said.
Earlier this month, a U.S. district judge ordered that implementation of the federal regulations would be delayed unil 2024, Boston radio station WBUR reported.
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine took to Twitter Wednesday evening to respond to the state dinner menu.
“Delicious, sustainable Maine lobster is an excellent choice for the main course for the president’s first State Dinner,” she tweeted Wednesday evening. “If Maine lobster is good enough for the White House to serve, it’s good enough for every seafood retailer—ncluding Whole Foods—to sell.”
Whole Foods announced this week that it would stop buying Maine lobster after two seafood-monitoring groups downgraded their ratings for the crustaceans over concerns about the industry’s impact on the right whale, NPR reported.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Golden’s office for comment.
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