National Resources Defense Council v. National Marine Fisheries Service

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (defendant) promulgated a regulation proposed by the South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Council (the council) pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act banning the catching and retention of speckled hind and warsaw grouper. Because these fish were susceptible to bycatch mortality (i.e., death resulting from catch and release when caught incidentally with other targeted species), the NMFS also banned fishing for six other species in the deep water where speckled hind and warsaw grouper were thought to exist. This deep-water prohibition was subsequently challenged by dissenting members of the council based on catch analysis it conducted, demonstrating that the speckled hind and warsaw grouper did not frequently co-occur with the other six species. The NMFS conducted an environmental-impact analysis and issued limited exempted fishing permits to fishers to verify the rate of co-occurrence. The new research showed that co-occurrence was low and that the deep-water ban did not aid the conservation of speckled hind or warsaw grouper. The NMFS issued an amendment reversing the deep-water ban, stating that the prohibition failed to promote conservation and had a negative economic impact on the fishing industry. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (plaintiff) challenged the amendment, arguing that the NMFS failed to adhere to the rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act by deferring to economic concerns, and that the reversal violated the national standards for fishery-management plans under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.