March 27, 2014 — The following was released by K&L Gates, LLP:
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the federal government violated the law by failing to properly manage the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Persistent overharvesting by the recreational fishing sector in recent years has harmed all stakeholders in the fishery, including commercial and recreational fishermen and fishing communities, and deprived consumers of access to fresh fish. Commercial fishermen and associated businesses that filed the lawsuit last June hailed the Court’s decision as a step towards better management of the red snapper fishery.
The court agreed with the plaintiffs’ arguments that the National Marine Fisheries Services (“NMFS”) violated the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law governing federal fisheries, by failing to implement sufficient accountability measures to ensure that the recreational fishing sector adheres to its annual fishing quota. The decision also found that the lack of accountability measures in the recreational sector caused a de facto reallocation of the red snapper fishery from the commercial sector to the recreational sector in violation of statutory and regulatory requirements.
“Litigation was not our first choice, but the agency’s mismanagement posed a real threat to the entire red snapper fishery, and to the businesses dependent on it,” said Buddy Guindon, a commercial red snapper fisherman from Galveston, Texas. “We look forward to working with NMFS and the Gulf Council to solve a longstanding issue in this fishery —the need for accountability measures in the recreational sector.”
Read the full press release here
View a copy of the court filing here