September 27, 2024 — Two Alaskan tribal nonprofit groups are asking a federal judge to block the National Marine Fisheries Service’s adoption of annual catch limits for groundfish fisheries, arguing the agency violated federal environmental regulations by omitting analysis on the environmental effects of that decision.
Katherine Glover, an Earthjustice attorney representing the Tanana Chiefs Conference and the Association of Village Presidents, told U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason that the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands ecosystem has declined since the service adopted its 2004 and 2007 environmental regulations.
“Since at least 2014, the Bering Sea has been in a period of turmoil,” Glover told the court at an oral hearing in Anchorage on Thursday.
The National Marine Fisheries Service manages groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands. The tribal groups argue the agency hasn’t taken disruptions like climate change into account in deciding groundfish harvest specifications.
In a lawsuit filed last October, the tribal groups accused the service of relying on outdated environmental impact statements for harvest specifications and groundfish fisheries management. In doing so, the groups argue, the agency did not satisfy its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act.