October 6, 2020 — A federal court has ruled in favor of an Oceana challenge to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rules regarding the incidental take of endangered sea turtles in the U.S. Atlantic scallop fishery, siding with the nonprofit in its assertion that the rules are inadequate.
The ruling, according to Oceana, is the latest in a “decades-long effort” by the nonprofit to ensure the scallop fishery “minimizes its harmful impacts on sea turtles.” The ruling will require the NMFS to revise its incidental take statement (ITS) to either more thoroughly explain the surrogate information, or revise its selections.