BOSTON—Populations of river herring and shad are being decimated by commercial fishing along the Eastern seaboard, an environmental group claims in a lawsuit filed Monday against fisheries regulators.
Earthjustice demands in the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington that the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission develop a plan to protect those species.
Stocks of river herring and shad on the East Coast have dropped more than 90 percent over the last two decades, and there is no scientific evidence that either species is recovering, the lawsuit said.
"They're disappearing before our eyes," said Roger Fleming, a Maine-based attorney for Earthjustice.
Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.