September 9, 2020 โ For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated the nationโs fishery management law โ the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act or MSA โ by not using the โbest available scienceโ in setting static catch limits on a widely fluctuating anchovy biomass. But an important industry group of harvesters and processors who are also involved in scientific research projects, take issue with the decision.
โLong story short, the judge ruled on a โwhat ifโ worst case scenario, not on the reality of anchovy abundance now, or our little anchovy fishery, which food habits studies have shown take less than 1 percent of the anchovy consumed by predators,โ said Diane Pleshner-Steele, the executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association. The CWPA is also an intervenor-defendant in the suit.