A federal appeals court invalidated regulations set by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which Maine lobstermen said could put them out of business.
These new regulations would cut the number of lobster traps allowed in half and require fishermen to switch to new gear, Sea Food Source reported.
However, the court found the “service’s opinion is contrary to law.” Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote for the court when striking down the regulation.
The regulations set by the National Marine Fisheries Service are influenced by the agency’s goal to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, Fox News Digital reported. There are less than 350 left in the ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). However, the Maine Lobster Association said right whales aren’t found off the coast of Maine, and “there has not been a documented right whale entanglement associated with Maine lobstermen since 2004,” Fox News Digital reported.
The NMFS said it based its regulations on worst case scenarios and to give the endangered species “the benefit of the doubt,” which they said is in line with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Reagan-appointed judge cited a 1978 court case in which work was halted on a $100 million dam project. The court ruled that the ESA “could not be used to require endless investigation into impacts on endangered species without showing actual proof of harm,” according to Sea Food Source.
“The Service’s legal reasoning was not just wrong; it was egregiously wrong,” according to the court statement. “The Service’s argument rested entirely upon a half-sentence in the legislative history. This ‘approach is a relic from a bygone era of statutory construction,'”
The court also noted that the Service’s regulations would require changes which aren’t supported in the law. Judge Gregory G. Katsas and Judge Neomi Rao, both appointed by former President Donald Trump, all voted in favor with Judge Ginsburg on the Maine lobstermen.
“Under the Service’s approach, legislative history may supply duties that, as the Service now concedes, are not found in the enacted law,” the court opined. “As the Supreme Court recently said, ‘We cannot approve such a casual disregard of the rules of statutory interpretation.’ The reason is obvious; as any high school Civics student should know, legislators vote on and the president signs bills, not their legislative history.”
In 2022, the Maine lobster industry brought in $389 million, the AP reported.
Dustin Delano, chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) told Fox News Digital that Friday’s court decision was a big win.
“Everybody’s under a great deal of stress between multiple things. 2022 being one of the worst seasons, the threat of offshore wind development off our coast,” Delano said. “So to have some positive news, and to get a win for the fishing industry. You know, it gives me goosebumps, because it’s not something that we’ve experienced in quite a while.”
Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement from the Bush administration argued the case for the Maine lobstermen, and the lobstermen were supported by amicus (“friend-of-the-court”) briefs filed by New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, as well as Chris Bartolomucci from the law firm Schaerr Jaffe, representing the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
The case is Maine Lobsterman’s Association v. Maine Department of Marine Resources, No. 22-5238 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.