August 1, 2016 — A federal judge presiding over the lawsuit filed by New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel challenging the legality of NOAA Fisheries forcing groundfishermen to pay for at-sea monitoring has ruled in favor of the federal government.
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante issued his 31-page ruling Friday in Concord, N.H., granting summary judgment to the defendants in the lawsuit that was filed last December naming Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker — whose department oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — as lead defendant.
“Ultimately, the voluminous administrative record demonstrates that (Amendment 16) — including the industry funding requirement — was the end product of a lengthy period of deliberation and public comment,” Laplante wrote in his conclusion.
Laplante went on to say that the mandated industry funding of at-sea monitoring is authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Act that governs commercial fishing in U.S. waters and does not violate a variety of federal acts as claimed by the plaintiffs.