February 20, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Commerce violated federal administrative law by requiring at-sea monitors for herring fishing and making the industry pay for them, a group of New Jersey fishermen say in a new federal lawsuit.
The Secretary of Commerce’s approval of a final rule, and a related omnibus amendment, is arbitrary and capricious, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday by the fishing company Loper Bright Enterprises Inc. and others in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.