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Red Snapper’s Overfishing Threat Triggers Records Suit

January 25, 2018 — BALTIMORE — Worried about regulatory changes that will exacerbate overfishing of red snapper, conservationists claim in a federal complaint that the Trump administration is stonewalling their records request.

Represented by Earthjustice, the nonprofit group Ocean Conservancy says it invoked the Freedom of Information Act on June 19, 2017 — the same day that the red snapper fishing season was expanded for private anglers in the Gulf of Mexico to 42 days, up from just three.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “admitted that the action would cause the private recreational fishing sector to substantially exceed the annual catch limit set for that sector and delay rebuilding for the overfished population of red snapper, in violation of a number of statutes,” the complaint states.

Ocean Conservancy says it wants access to the agencies’ records about the rule change so that it can understand why the rule was adopted and inform the public.

“The government has an obligation to the citizens of this country to manage our shared public resources in a transparent way, and it is unacceptable for them to withhold that information from us,” Meredith Moore, director of fish conservation at Ocean Conservancy, said in a statement on the group’s website. “By all indications, the red snapper decision was a politically motivated action that ignored science, contrary to the law. Their decision will cause long-term damage to the fishermen and communities that depend on this economically and ecologically important fishery.

Neither the NOAA nor NMFS has responded to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Read the full story at Courthouse News

 

Trump team may have broken law to score red snapper win

December 19, 2017 — The Trump administration scored last week when a House panel voted to give Gulf of Mexico states more power in managing the popular red snapper, but court records suggest it may be a tainted victory.

Internal memos show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and a top adviser may have knowingly violated federal fisheries law in June when they extended the Gulf red snapper season, hoping the move would pressure Congress to act.

In a June 1 memo, Earl Comstock, the Commerce Department’s director of policy and strategic planning, told Ross that a longer season “would result in overfishing” of the stock by as much as 40 percent and possibly prompt a lawsuit.

But Comstock urged Ross to extend the season anyway, saying it could lead to “a significant achievement” by forcing Congress to liberalize the federal law and transfer more authority to Gulf states.

“It would allow a reset in the acrimonious relationship and set the stage for Congress to adopt a long-term fix,” Comstock told Ross.

Comstock followed up with a second memo on June 7, reminding his boss that both the White House and a dozen congressmen from Gulf states had asked Ross to explore the possibility of a longer fishing season.

The next week, Ross decided to extend the season from three to 42 days, much to the joy of recreational anglers in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama (Greenwire, Sept. 20).

Critics say the memos offer proof that Commerce and NOAA Fisheries plotted to bypass the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a 1976 law that sets quotas as a way to rebuild overfished stocks, including the red snapper.

“I appreciate it when people are transparent about their intentions,” said Janis Searles Jones, the CEO of Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental group.

Commerce made the memos public as part of its response to a lawsuit filed in July in U.S. District Court in Washington by Ocean Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund. The complaint accuses Ross, NOAA and NOAA Fisheries of mismanagement by allowing overfishing.

Read the full story at E&E News

 

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