Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

Maine lobstermen catch big court victory against Biden administration’s ‘egregious’ regulations

by June 17, 2023
June 17, 2023
Maine lobstermen catch big court victory against Biden administration’s ‘egregious’ regulations

A group of Maine lobstermen won a big legal victory in court Friday in their lawsuit against the Biden administration over regulations they said threatened their livelihood. 

Last year, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) sued the Biden administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its new rule that the government said was aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale, but that lobstermen claimed threatened to put family-owned lobster fisheries out of business.

That rule imposed operating limits on lobster fisheries and set new technical standards on how much lobster trap rope could be in the water, which would cut in half the number of traps that could be deployed.

NMFS defended its rule in court by saying that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) demands that the agency make rules based on assumptions of worst-case scenarios and ‘give the benefit of the doubt’ to the endangered species.

But Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, who was part of the three-judge panel that decided the case, lambasted the government’s theory in an opinion issued Friday: 

 ‘The Service’s legal reasoning was not just wrong; it was egregiously wrong. The Service’s argument rested entirely upon a half-sentence in the legislative history. This ‘approach is a relic from a bygone era of statutory construction,” Ginsburg said. 

‘Under the Service’s approach, legislative history may supply duties that, as the Service now concedes, are not found in the enacted law. As the Supreme Court recently said, ‘We cannot approve such a casual disregard of the rules of statutory interpretation.’ The reason is obvious; as any high school Civics student should know, legislators vote on and the president signs bills, not their legislative history,’ he continued. 

Judge Ginsburg also seemed to call out the agency for historical hypocrisy in its rulemaking. ‘Only a few years ago, the Service, revisiting its interpretive rules, agreed with commenters that ‘nothing’ in the ESA required it to use ‘a ‘worst-case scenario’ or make unduly conservative modeling assumptions,’ and rejected comments arguing it should give the benefit of the doubt to a species by evaluating ‘effects or activities that were possible even if not likely.” he said. 

Dustin Delano, former vice president of the MLA and now chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), said Friday’s court decision is a welcomed moral boost to the fishing industry that he says has been drowning in overreaching regulations.

‘Today’s decision is a rare and long-sought victory for lobstermen. Regulators must confront the human cost of their skewed and unjustified approach. NMFS’ rules could have destroyed an iconic trade based on a distorted analysis of data that the law does not justify,’ Delano said.

‘Lobstermen, like all New England fishermen, are formed in an ethic of conservation that long predated federal regulations and the environmental movement. We are deeply sensitive to the marine environment,’ he added. 

The North Atlantic right whale is an endangered species, with fewer than 400 left in the ocean. They are vulnerable to vessel strikes or entanglement with fishing gear.

But the MLA says that right whales do not inhabit the coast of Maine, and there has not been a documented right whale entanglement associated with Maine lobstermen since 2004. There has also never been a documented instance of Maine lobstermen seriously injuring or killing a right whale.

Delano says that for decades, the NMFS has been imposing rules based on assumptions and bad data, because it has been ‘caving’ to the environmental groups without input from the fishing community. 

‘Enough’s enough,’ Delano said.

‘I just I really can’t stress enough obviously what this will do for the people in our industry,’ Delano said of the Friday ruling. 

‘Everybody’s under a great deal of stress between multiple things. 2022 being one of the worst seasons, the threat of offshore wind development off our coast. So to have some positive news, and to get a win for the fishing industry. You know, it gives me goosebumps, because it’s not something that we’ve experienced in quite a while,’ he said. 

Delano helped launch NFSA earlier this year, a group that aims to represent New England fisherman to beat back federal regulations that are crippling the industry.

Delano praised the work of the MLA for Friday’s court victory and said that he hopes his new organization can follow in its footsteps. 

‘You know, growing up, half of the kids in my class were fishermen. We’d go to school, and we talked about what we got in our traps the night before. That’s what we’ve been doing since we were 10 years old. And that still continues today,’ Delano said. 

‘And that’s part of why NFSA was formed, because we want more than anything to continue that tradition. And we need a larger presence in Washington, D.C., and that’s why we really wanted to try to get all the fishing associations together to represent all fishermen all across New England to have a larger voice,’ he said. 

Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Hunter Biden deposed in Arkansas child support case over 4-year-old daughter
next post
IN OR OUT? New poll reveals where Republican voters stand in support of Trump after second indictment

You may also like

Born-Alive Act: Pelosi, Schumer melt down after new...

January 12, 2023

Warning to Trump nuke negotiators about deceptive Iranian...

April 30, 2025

LIVE-STREAM VIDEO: President Trump Holds Rally in Mesa,...

October 9, 2022

SAVAGE: Trump-Endorsed Kari Lake Tells Gender Confused Katie...

October 25, 2022

Trump could face renewed ISIS threat in Syria...

December 23, 2024

As Gateway Pundit Reported: Democrat PACs Are Already...

October 26, 2022

UN halts humanitarian work in Yemen’s Houthi stronghold...

February 12, 2025

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul considers ban on...

July 20, 2023

Obama says any Israeli military strategy that ignores...

October 24, 2023

Texas legislators look to give voters final decision...

March 13, 2023

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • RFK Jr cancels $500 million in mRNA research, HHS to prioritize ‘safer’ vaccine alternatives

      August 5, 2025
    • Senate GOP ready to go nuclear after Schumer’s ‘political extortion’ of nominees

      August 5, 2025
    • Cotton calls on IRS to pull Muslim advocacy group’s nonprofit status

      August 5, 2025
    • One in Five ICE Arrests Are Latinos on the Streets with No Criminal Past or Removal Order

      August 5, 2025
    • Gargantuan ‘bird cemeteries’ in Burgum’s crosshairs as DOI looks to curb green wind projects

      August 5, 2025
    • Key aide in IRS’ Tea Party targeting controversy put on leave after allegations of new anti-GOP effort

      August 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,677)
    • Investing (2,174)
    • Politics (16,313)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved