June 20, 2023 — New England lobstermen have won a favorable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reversed a lower court decision and has granted relief.
In a decision Friday afternoon, Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg – the senior justice – wrote that the court was reversing a summary judgment of the District Court for the National Marine Fisheries Service and awarding a summary judgment to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources.
In the decision, the court ruled that the “federal government went too far” in its regulatory process “when they sought to impose significant restrictions on New England’s lobster industry, according to a release.