Should Europe ban Maine lobsters as an invasive species? EU to weigh in Wednesday.

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Portland, Maine • An arm of the European Union is expected to weigh in on a request from Sweden to deem American lobsters an invasive species in much of Europe.

Sweden says the European Union should ban imports of live American lobsters into EU nations because 32 of the crustaceans were found in Sweden's waters earlier this year.

The European Union's Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species is expected to issue its opinion on Wednesday.

Swedish, American and Canadian scientists and government officials have sparred about whether Sweden's request is rooted in sound science.

A spokeswoman for the European Union says the forum's issuance of an opinion is one step in a long process of potentially listing a species as invasive. The process could take a year.