Saving Seafood

Trump administration defends Atlantic marine monument against lawsuit

April 20, 2018 — The Trump administration has gone on the record in defense of Barack Obama’s 2016 establishment of the 5,000-square mile Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, according to a defense filing in federal court this week.

Jeffrey H. Wood, acting assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources division, entered a motion on Monday, April 16, to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Obama’s authority to make the monument designation filed by various fishing organizations. The lawsuit has been on hold since last spring after President Donald Trump ordered an official review of several National Marine Monuments established by Obama. That hold was lifted in mid-March and the plaintiffs are ready to pick up where they left off.

The lawsuit argues that Obama never had the authority to establish the monument under the the Antiquities Act, given that the ocean is not “land owned or controlled by the federal government,” as the act stipulates.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Trump administration seeks dismissal of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monument lawsuit

April 19, 2018 — Despite its willingness to review the designations made by its predecessor, the Trump Administration is at least defending former President Obama’s ability to create national monuments. That’s according to a filing in federal court earlier this week.

Jeffrey H. Wood, acting assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources division, entered a motion on 16 April to dismiss a lawsuit filed last year by the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. The Lobstermen and other fishing groups filed the suit in response to the Obama Administration designating the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in September 2016.

The Northeast Canyons was the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, and with that designation, commercial fishing – with certain exclusions for red crab and lobster fishing – is not permitted in the nearly 5,000-square-mile area. Crab and lobster fishing would continue until a seven-year permit expires.

Last year, Trump ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review the monuments, which were created under the Antiquities Act. While Zinke has not recommended removing any designation for marine monuments, he has encouraged Trump to open monuments for more commercial fishing opportunities.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Feds seek dismissal of lawsuit over extended red snapper season

October 19, 2017 — WASHINGTON — U.S. officials accused of allowing red snapper to be overfished in the Gulf of Mexico have called on a federal judge to enter a summary judgement in their case, saying the environmental organizations suing them have a moot point.

The rule challenged by Ocean Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund to extend the recreational fishing season has already expired, said Jeffrey Wood, the acting assistant attorney general for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Wood also claims the federal court has no jurisdiction over the case.

“Even if the court were to find it has jurisdiction, the only appropriate course at this juncture is to remand to the agency for further action consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act,” Wood argued in a 13 October filing.

The two organizations filed suit against Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service in July, a month after officials added 39 more days to the recreational fishing season.

Read the full story at Seafood Source