Press Releases
July 14, 2021
Oceana Sues Federal Government to Rebuild Overfished Sardines
Today Oceana, represented by Earthjustice, sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) over the agency’s faulty rebuilding plan that will neither recover the Pacific sardine population nor take into account … Read more
June 29, 2021
California Governor Newsom has signed the 2021-2022 budget, which includes $1.3 million for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife... Read More
June 8, 2021
Senate Passes Ban on U.S. Shark Fin Trade on World Oceans Day
Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act (S. 1106) — a bill that would ban the... Read More
May 6, 2021
WASHINGTON — Today, the Biden-Harris administration published a plan for the “America the Beautiful Campaign,” which outlines principles to drive... Read More
April 22, 2021
Bill to Ban Trade of Shark Fins in United States Reintroduced in Congress
WASHINGTON – A bill (H.R. 2811) that would ban the buying and selling of shark fins in the United States was... Read More
April 22, 2021
Endangered Humpback Whales Receive Critical Habitat Protections in U.S. Pacific
This week the Biden administration designated more than 154,500 square miles in the U.S. Pacific as critical habitat for three... Read More
February 1, 2021
. . . set the [catch] limit for an indefinite period of time without a mechanism to respond to significant changes in anchovy abundance, even though the best scientific information available established that anchovy population fluctuations are common and extreme. Given this backdrop, it was at minimum arbitrary and capricious for the NMFS to fail to consider whether the [catch limits] would still prevent overfishing, especially given that the anchovy population will fluctuate again in the future.” Yet, in its latest rule, the Fisheries Service once again allowed the anchovy fishery to catch 25,000 metric tons of fish per year, regardless of whether the population is high or verging on collapse.
“It’s déjà vu all over again,” said Dr. Geoff Shester, California Campaign Director and Senior Scientist for Oceana. “Despite anchovy’s importance, and available state-of-the-art acoustic survey methods and data to manage anchovy responsibly, the Fisheries Service stubbornly chooses to ignore court orders and puts forth the same irresponsible and arbitrary catch limit rule over and over again. Then they pass the buck to their advisory body — the Pacific Fishery Management Council — to solve the problem while simultaneously advising them not to act. The science is clear and so is the law: setting unchanging catch limits for a boom-and-bust population like anchovy by cherry picking data from the ‘boom’ years is reckless and shortsighted, which is what forced us into the courts four years ago. Fishing communities and local economies rely on abundant populations of anchovy and other forage fish as critical food for larger fish like salmon as well as whales, sea lions and other ocean wildlife that bring tourism dollars to our coasts. We’re hoping that as a new administration looks to restore a science-based approach by its agencies they finally implement rational management of anchovy off the U.S. West Coast to increase the resilience of our oceans in the face of climate change.”
“It’s time to restore common sense, science, and the rule of law — all of which the new Biden administration seems to be trying to do,” said Earthjustice attorney Andrea Treece. “In the meantime, we’re asking the Court to stop the Fisheries Service’s endless loop of relying on the same outdated science and recycling the same, failed “set it and forget it” management approach the Court has twice struck down. Repeating the same absurd thing over and over was a funny plot device for the movie “Groundhog Day,” but it’s a lousy way to manage a fish that supports the entire West Coast ecosystem. It’s time for the Fisheries Service to snap out of it and take its responsibilities — and the Court’s orders — seriously.”
For more information about Oceana’s campaign to secure responsible management for anchovy and the history of Oceana’s litigation, click here.
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one third of the world’s wild fish catch. With over 200 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and killing of threatened species like turtles and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that one billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit usa.oceana.org to learn more
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.https://earthjustice.org/
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