Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc v. Gina Raimondo
Cause of Action Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of New Jersey family fishermen to block a new regulation that would force them to pay for third-party “at-sea monitors.” The industry-killing rule—which was designed by the New England Fishery Management Council and promulgated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Department of Commerce—will require certain boats in the Atlantic herring fishery to carry “at-sea monitors” and at their own cost.
At-sea monitoring is expected to cost over $700 a day. Herring fishermen will suffer a drop in income projected as at least 20%, which will challenge companies to remain profitable and subsequently have the effect of driving up costs to lobster and crab fishermen throughout the region.
The agencies are forcing this requirement on the fisherman despite no statutory authority to do so and in addition to a separate, federally funded observing program. The regulation also has the potential to modify other New England fishery management plans to allow for standardized implementation of additional industry-funded monitoring programs in the future.
See Related DocumentsMedia Contact
Follow Us
TwitterRecent News
18 State Attorneys General File Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS Review of Chevron Deference
December 19, 2022
ICYMI: Paul Clement; Cause of Action Institute Petition SCOTUS to Review Chevron in Fishermen Case
November 15, 2022
NJ Fishermen Ask Supreme Court to End Unlawful, Job-Killing Mandate
November 10, 2022
CoA Institute Highlights Deficiencies in Proposed Rule to Shift Burdensome Costs of At-Sea Monitoring to Commercial Fishermen
The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), in coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), seeks to approve and implement a controversial set of regulatory amendments that would create a new industry-funding requirement for at-sea monitoring in the Atlantic herring fishery and, moreover, create a standardized process for introducing similar requirements in other New England fisheries. Under the so-called Omnibus Amendment, the fishing industry would be forced to bear the burdensome cost of allowing third-party monitors to ride their boats in line with the NEFMC’s supplemental monitoring goals. This would unfairly and unlawfully restrict economic opportunity in the fishing industry.
Learn More