A Swedish proposal to ban the import of live American lobster into the European Union has been rejected by an EU committee. The committee said that disruption to trade was the main reason for its decision.
Sweden had proposed the ban earlier this year arguing that American lobsters presented a threat as an invasive species. Sweden argued that American lobsters had been found in Swedish waters on a number of occasions and it claimed evidence that there had been cross-breeding with native crustaceans.
In September, the EU’s Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species ruled that Sweden had present enough evidence for the EU to consider a ban. But at the end of last week, the EU’s Committee on Invasive Alien Species ruled that the species should not be placed on a ‘black list’ of imports. The Financial Times reported (see here) that the committee would “would explore other less trade restrictive” measures. A ban on the lobsters would have adversely affected the $130 million trade with the EU.