Turtle Island Restoration Network v. United States Department of Commerce

The Hawaii Longline Association appeals the approval of a consent decree entered into by plaintiff environmental groups and defendant federal agencies affecting the regulation and management of the Hawaii shallow-set, swordfish longline fishery. Appellant challenges the district court’s vacatur, under the terms of the consent decree, of a regulation increasing the limit on incidental interactions between longline fishing boats and loggerhead turtles and replacing the increased limit with a lower limit that was previously in effect. Appellant argues that the district court abused its discretion in approving a consent decree that violates federal law by allowing the National Marine Fisheries Service to change duly promulgated rules without following the procedural rulemaking requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (a)(1), and we affirm.

1. Facts and Procedural Background

Plaintiff-Appellees, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Center for Biological Diversity, and KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance (collectively, “Turtle Island”), are nonprofit environmental organizations and…