December 19, 2022 — Last month, a group of New Jersey fishermen filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to stop the federal government from making them pay for workers who gather data aboard fishing boats.
At issue is a 2020 federal rule implemented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that requires industry-funded monitoring. The monitors go out on commercial fishing vessels to collect data that’s used to craft new regulations.
NOAA announced earlier this month, that it was suspending the program until April, citing a lack of funding for administrative costs. The fishermen want the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the agency doesn’t have the power to require fishermen to pay the monitors.