Blue Water Fisherman’s Association v. Mineta

The secretary of commerce (the secretary) (defendant) issued a final fishery-management plan (the plan), establishing Atlantic bluefin-tuna (ABT) trip limits (i.e., the number of ABT that could be caught during a single fishing trip) and annual quotas on the number of pelagic sharks (i.e., sharks living in the open sea) fishers could catch. Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act (the act), the plan had to adhere to a set of national standards (the standards). The plan was based on available research and was designed to prevent overfishing, particularly by reducing incentives for fishers to target high-value species. Blue sharks and porbeagle sharks, which could only be caught incidentally, were not overfished, but research showed that their slow growth and breeding process made them susceptible to overfishing and unable to quickly repopulate if overfishing occurred. The Blue Water Fisherman’s Association (the association) (plaintiff) challenged the plan, arguing that it failed to adhere to standard one: to promote conservation while maintaining optimum yield; standard two: to act based on the best scientific information available; standard eight: to prevent overfishing while minimizing adverse economic impacts; and standard nine: to minimize bycatch to the extent practicable. The secretary filed a motion for summary judgment.