June 16, 2023 –A U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled in favor of Maine lobstermen in ordering the National Marine Fisheries Service to vacate a 2021 biological opinion regarding North Atlantic right whales that led to more stringent rules being implemented for lobster fishing.
The unanimous 3-0 ruling, filed with a majority opinion written by U.S. Senior Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg, found the service went too far in its analysis of the lobster and Jonah crab industries’ potential harm to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.