US lobster put on ‘red list’ to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales

A severely entangled North Atlantic right whale. The population must swim through a maze of fishing gear to get to feeding grounds after calving. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy

Lobster nets and pots have become such a threat to the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales that the crustaceans have been “red-listed” as seafood to avoid by a major fish sustainability guide.

Fewer than 340 of these whales exist today, including only 80 breeding females. The population is estimated to have dwindled by 28% over the past decade.