November 15, 2022 — Atlantic herring fishermen are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a requirement that they pay for fishery observers at sea, at costs that can exceed $700 a day.
The fishermen’s petition to certify looks to bring their earlier lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce and National Marine Fisheries Service to the high court, after they lost in a federal appeals court.
“We are fighting for our livelihoods and a future that is being unfairly targeted by federal overreach,” said Stefan Axelsson, a third-generation fisherman and captain of one of the vessels in the lawsuit, in a statement from the fishermen and their lawyers on Nov. 10. “These rules could force hardworking fishermen to surrender a significant part of their earnings.”
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Loper Bright Enterprises of New Jersey, is associated with several fishing vessels and companies based at Cape May, N.J. The group has fought back against a 2020 rule from the National Marine Fisheries Service that forced vessel operators to pick up the tab for daily at-sea observer coverage. Fishermen say Congress should fund the program.
“Making these vessels pay to have the observer coverage on them just decreases hardworking fishermen’s wages and makes it less attractive for vessels to continue,” said Wayne Reichle, president of Lund’s Fisheries of New Jersey and an owner of two of the boats that are plaintiffs in the case. “In some cases, it prevents them from fishing.”