Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. National Marine Fisheries Service

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This suit involves a challenge by plaintiffs Natural Resource Defense Council and Oceana (collectively “NRDC”) to the 2002 Annual Specifications and Management Measures for the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery promulgated by defendant National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”). Now before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

This lawsuit focuses on measures taken by NMFS to allow four west coast groundfish species to recover from significant population declines due to intensive overharvesting. The terms “groundfish” and “rockfish” refer to a group of ocean-floor fish species that live between 50 and 150 years but mature slowly and have low reproductive rates. See 14 Administrative Record (“AR”) M.47 Attach, at 22. These species play an important ecological role in the coastal ecosystems of California, Oregon, and Washington, and they are a valuable food source for marine mammals, other fish species, and humans. See 19 AR B.17 at 18. Fish markets often refer to groundfish as “red snapper” or “rock cod.”

NMFS is an agency under the umbrella of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), which in turn is…