Filed by Oceana, an international environmental advocacy group, with actor Ted Danson as its spokesperson, the suit argued that the National Marine Fisheries Service had only described, rather than established, a "standardized reporting methodology." 

While it might sound like mere semantics, the decision is cause for concern for fishing families already facing numerous challenges. 

"This ruling has the potential to be very significant," says Andrew Minkiewicz, an attorney who represents the Fisheries Survival Fund, which was established to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery. "Depending on how NMFS, The New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils choose to respond, fishermen could potentially have to pay for really high levels of observer coverage."

The significant additional costs could burden both NMFS and the fishing industry alike. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires that NMFS adopt policies to reduce the volume of bycatch, and instructs the agency, in conjunction with eight regional councils, to "establish a standardized reporting methodology to assess the amount and type of bycatch" in each fishery, in each region.  NMFS worked with the councils to propose an "omnibus amendment" to fishery management plans for the 13 fisheries in the regions. That amendment requires NMFS to fund and allocate independent observers to generate statistically-reliable data on bycatch. 

However, the amendment includes a separate authorization allowing NMFS to invoke a "Prioritization Process" for years when external operational constraints would prevent the agency from fully implementing the required at-sea observer coverage levels. Since the implementation of the omnibus amendment, NMFS has never achieved the prescribed coverage levels as a result of budgetary constraints.  

The recent ruling represents a potential problem for the fisheries, especially if NMFS allows the cost of financing independent observation to be transferred to fishermen instead of implementing other possibilities. While the amendment was being drafted, some of the stakeholders working with NMFS had offered viable alternatives for retrieving reliable bycatch data which were not implemented.

"NMFS needs to confront the observer issue head-on, and devise a solution that balances the need for good information with economic reality," said David Frulla, a partner at the law firm of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

Read a description of the ruling from Leagle.