National Marine Fisheries Service did not use best available science or develop conservation alternatives to protect ocean habitats in the Gulf of Alaska as required under federal law

Oceana argues that the National Marine Fisheries failed to meet obligations under the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act to protect corals, sponges and other seafloor habitats from bottom trawling.

El fallo traslada el equilibrio de poder a la rama judicial

Ruling shifts balance of power to judicial branch

What you need to know about Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and how the Court’s ruling jeopardizes the government’s ability to regulate

Earthjustice, representing Oceana, prevails in lawsuit to recover Pacific sardines to protect whales, sea lions, seabirds, and other ocean animals that rely on the small fish for food

Recent environmental rulings from the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority have revealed a dangerous agenda, but we still have strong legal tools to protect people and the planet.

The case could significantly affect how federal courts review federal regulations

The case could significantly affect how federal courts review federal regulations

Groups take legal action to reduce lethal impacts on imperiled fish from utility’s operation of outdated hydroelectric Potter Valley Project dams

Federal agency cuts flows as the largest river restoration project begins

Conservation Council of Hawai‘i and Michael Nakachi bring this action for declaratory and injunctive relief to remedy the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) failure to protect threatened oceanic whitetip sharks from harm caused by fisheries in the Western Pacific Ocean. Specifically, NMFS has failed to complete required consultation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regarding the effects of NMFS’s continued authorization of two fisheries managed under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pacific Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region on the oceanic whitetip shark. By failing to complete consultation, NMFS is failing to ensure that these activities do not jeopardize the continued existence of the species, in violation of Section 7 of the ESA and its implementing regulations.

Andrea Treece, Attorney, Oceans Program, Earthjustice: “Certainly, behind the scenes, the CEOs of the car industry are having an influence, but they’re not writing the rules for their own industry.”

Thanks in part to this lawsuit, whitetip sharks will have a better chance of survival if they get accidentally caught in fishing gear.

The climate crisis is changing oceans, our laws must address that

Powerful underwater blasts put iconic endangered whale at risk

Pacific sardines are key food for whales, seabirds, and salmon, yet fishery managers are failing to rebuild populations

But the administration must act now.