February 24, 2020 — A group of US Atlantic herring trawlers linked to major New Jersey scallop and squid supplier Lund’s Fisheries have sued the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) arguing that a new rule requiring them to pay for the cost of at-sea monitoring violates federal laws.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 19 in a Washington, D.C., federal court, alleges that NOAA’s Feb. 7 publication of a “final rule” that will pave the way for industry-funded monitoring claims that the rule exceeds the agency’s authority granted under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the main legislation that regulates fishing in US federal waters.
The lawsuit further claims that the rule improperly infringes on “Congress’s exclusive taxation authority” and violates three other federal laws — the Anti-Deficiency Act, the Miscellaneous Receipts Act and the Independent Offices Appropriations Act, all of which regulate how the government collects and spends money.
The rule, according to the lawsuit, could cost herring harvesters as much as $700 per trip for the monitors, third-party observers hired by the vessel owner.