January 5, 2016 — A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the Gulf Council’s red snapper fishing quotas for the next three years.
The plaintiffs, challenged the legality of Amendment 40 to the Gulf Council’s Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan and the associated rule which sets fishing quotas and seasons for 2015-17.
The plaintiffs argued that under the federal Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Gulf Council is prohibited from regulating charter fishing separately from recreational fishing. Also, that the Gulf Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service did not “assess, specify and analyze” the economic and social effects of Amendment 40, that the amendment makes an unfair and inequitable allocation of fishing resources and the Council improperly delegated authority to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Amendment 40 defines the partitioning of the recreational sector. All four arguments were struck down.
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