Saving Seafood

Will a Supreme Court decision in fisheries case tie the hands of all government regulators?

May 23, 2023 — Fishing for Atlantic herring may seem worlds away from restrictions on power plant emissions or responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. But a case before the U.S. Supreme Court could affect all those activities and more by altering how federal agencies apply scientific expertise in carrying out their regulatory duties.

On 1 May the high court agreed to hear a case brought by four family-owned herring businesses. They argue that the National Marine Fisheries Service has no authority to require them to pay for onboard observers who would monitor their catch to help the agency protect declining fish stocks.

But legal scholars and environmentalists say much more than fishing is at stake in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. When the high court rules, most likely in the spring of 2024, it may also take a step back from a long-standing legal doctrine, called the Chevron deference, used to determine whether government agencies have exceeded their authority. The doctrine has been applied for nearly 40 years to everything the government does, including regulations affecting businesses, schools, and the general population.

Read the full article at Science.org

Justices to consider case involving fishing boat monitor pay

May 1, 2023 — The U.S. Supreme Court will take up the subject of who pays for workers who gather valuable data aboard commercial fishing boats.

Justices announced Monday that they will take the case, which stems from a lawsuit by a group of fishermen who want to stop the federal government from making them pay for the workers. The workers are tasked with collecting data on board fishing vessels to help inform rules and regulations.

The fishermen involved in the lawsuit harvest Atlantic herring, which is a major fishery off the East Coast that supplies both food and bait. Lead plaintiff Loper Bright Enterprises of New Jersey and other fishing groups have said federal rules unfairly require them to pay hundreds of dollars per day to contractors.

“Our way of life is in the hands of these justices, and we hope they will keep our families and our community in mind as they weigh their decision,” said Bill Bright, a New Jersey fisherman and plaintiff in the case.

Read the full story at AP News

Much at stake in US Supreme Court review of at-sea monitoring case

December 21, 2022 — Herring fishermen in the U.S. state of New Jersey are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review their case challenging the at-sea monitoring program, a cause that has gained support from a wide variety of groups.

According to the Cause of Action Institute, which is representing the fishermen suing the federal government, 39 groups are part of 14 amicus briefs that have been filed in the case. That includes attorneys general from 18 states as well as the small business group NFIB, the Cato Institute, several legal foundations, and other fishing-industry stakeholders.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Herring fishermen take at-sea monitoring costs to Supreme Court

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.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Atlantic Herring: Council Receives Update on 2023-2025 Specs; Discusses Status of Framework 7, Industry-Funded Monitoring

July 12, 2022 — The New England Fishery Management Council covered three issues related to Atlantic herring when it met June 28-30, 2022 for a hybrid meeting in Portland, Maine.

SPECIFICATIONS: The Council received a brief update on 2023-2025 herring specifications, which are under development. The Herring Plan Development Team (PDT) is working on the action, and the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will develop the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations at an August 4, 2022 meeting. The annual catch limit (ACL), area-specific sub-ACLs, and other fishery specifications will flow from the ABC. The Herring Advisory Panel and Herring Committee will meet later this summer to review the specifications and recommend preferred alternatives for Council consideration. The Council will take final action during its September 27-29, 2022 meeting.

The specifications will be informed by the peer reviewed results of the June 2022 Herring Management Track Assessment, which was conducted immediately preceding the start of the Council meeting. Herring was last assessed in 2020 and was determined to be overfished, although overfishing was not occurring. Results from the new 2022 assessment are being finalized, but it does not appear the status of the resource has changed much from the previous assessment.

Read the full release here

 

Maine’s struggling Atlantic herring fishery gets boost from NOAA disaster assistance

May 9, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries has awarded Maine $7,191,787 to provide disaster assistance for the state’s struggling Atlantic herring fishery. NOAA Fisheries will work with the Maine Department of Marine Resources to administer these funds.

“The drastic reduction in Atlantic herring quotas has caused significant losses in primary income and threatened job security for many in the herring industry,” said Senator [Susan] Collins, in a news release. “Given the unstable status of our Atlantic herring fishery, and its role in supporting Maine’s iconic lobster industry, I advocated for the State of Maine’s commercial fishery failure declaration request.  This financial assistance provided through the designation is crucial to the survival of Maine’s Atlantic herring fishery.”

Read the full story at the Penbay Pilot

New Hampshire to receive $600K in funding for Atlantic herring fishery disaster

May 9, 2022 — More than $600,000 will come to New Hampshire to help those impacted by the 2019 Atlantic herring fishery disaster.

A scientific assessment in 2020 found herring were overfished, leading to a disaster declaration by the federal government.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said the funding will help combat economic issues caused by the disaster.

Read the full story and watch the video at WMUR 9

 

Atlantic herring industry in Maine gets over $7 million to cope with fish losses

May 6, 2022 — Disaster-level instability in the Atlantic herring industry has prompted the federal government to give $11 million to commercial fishermen and shore-side infrastructure in four states.

A scientific assessment in 2020 found that herring are overfished, and quotas for the fish were reduced dramatically. The federal government declared a “fishery disaster” in November, clearing the way for assistance.

Atlantic herring are vital because they’re used as bait by commercial lobstermen — who’ve been plagued by a bait crunch for years — as well as for food.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

Fishermen sue to end industry-funded monitoring program

February 9, 2022 — A group of fishing companies in New England is bringing its bid to try to end industry-funded monitoring programs to federal appeals court.

The companies are part of the industry that harvests Atlantic herring, which are heavily fished off the East Coast. The federal government requires herring fishing boats to participate in, and pay for, at-sea monitoring programs.

The government and some environmental groups have said the industry-funded monitoring programs are vitally important to collect data that helps craft fishing rules. But members of the industry have argued the monitors, who are on-board workers, cost hundreds of dollars a day and can make it impossible to turn a profit.

Read the full story at the AP

Fishermen indicted in federal court for alleged fraud, violation of herring laws

February 3, 2022 — Five Maine fishermen  and one fisherman from New Hampshire, along with a corporation, were charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice in connection with a multi-year scheme to sell unreported Atlantic herring and falsify fishing records, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced in a news release. An indictment was filed January 27 in U.S. District Court.

Glenn Robbins, 75, of Eliot; Ethan Chase, 44, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Neil Herrick, 46, of Rockland; Andrew Banow, 35, of Rockport; Stephen Little, 56, of Warren; Jason Parent, 49, of Owls Head; and Western Sea, Inc., were named in a 35-count indictment returned Jan. 28.

Robbins is the owner and one of the captains of the Western Sea, a 99-foot purse seiner, and a federally permitted Atlantic fishing herring vessel moored in Rockland, according to the indictment.

Atlantic herring is defined as a small schooling fish that serves as a primary bait for Maine’s lobster industry.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Pilot