May 7, 2024 — A U.S. district court has ruled that NOAA Fisheries’ plan for rebuilding sardine populations along the West Coast is unlawful, ordering the agency to develop a new plan.
Conservation group Oceana, represented by Earthjustice, first sued NOAA Fisheries in 2021 after it become clear Pacific sardine populations had collapsed despite the government’s rebuilding plan. From 2006 to 2020, the population dropped by more than 98 percent, according to Oceana. In 2019, NOAA Fisheries placed Pacific sardines on its overfished list.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource