Facts

The Magnuson-Stevens Act was enacted by Congress to conserve and manage the fishery resources off the coasts of the United States. The act created eight regional council tasked with protecting fisheries within their jurisdiction under the oversight of the National Marine Fisheries Service. To do so, a council creates a fishery management plan describing in general terms how fisheries within its jurisdiction will be governed. Then, the council promulgates regulations to implement the plan, such as limiting the number of fish that can be caught each year. Importantly, management plans must comply with ten national standards for conservation and management. National Standard Two requires plans to be based upon the best scientific information available, and National Standard One directs the agency to permit as much fishing as possible without risking the future of the fishery. One activity the agency engages in to accomplish this is the setting of catch limits, which sets the maximum amount of a fishery that may be harvested each year.

The northern anchovy is a small fish that lives off the west coast of the United States. For wildlife management purposes, the northern anchovy population is split into two, separately managed subpopulations: The central subpopulation ranging from San Francisco to Punta Baja, Mexico, and the northern subpopulation ranging from San Francisco to British Columbia, Canada. Management of the northern anchovy is laid out in the Coastal Pelagic Species Management Plan, which places it within the monitored management category, meaning its catch limits are set for multiple years and only adjusted if the species becomes actively managed or new scientific data requires it.

In 2016, the annual catch limit for the northern anchovy was set by regulation at 25,000 metric tons. After the rule was promulgated, Oceana Inc. filed suit, arguing the rule violated National Standards One and Two. The trial court in that case found the scientific information used to arrive at the limit was outdated, and it cited a study conducted by Alec MacCall arguing the anchovy population had collapsed between 2009 and 2011. It determined the population estimates used to set the limit were inaccurate, so the rule was arbitrary and capricious.

In 2019, the annual catch limit was set at 23,573 metric tons, and once again, Oceana sued. Once again, the rule was overturned for failing to account for studies by MacCall and Julie Thayer demonstrating drops in the anchovy population.

The next year, the agency promulgated a third catch limit of 25,000 metric tons, and Oceana challenged the rule in federal court.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: The plaintiff contended that the new rule violated the requirement of National Standard Two because the agency rejected the MacCall and Thayer studies; that the rule will not prevent overfishing as required by National Standard One; that the rule does not account for the needs of anchovy predators; and that the management plan for the northern anchovy was unlawful because it places them in the monitored management category.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: The defendant denied any wrongdoing. Moreover, the defendant contended that its catch limit complied with the requisite laws and National Standards. The defendant further contended that the MacCall and Thayer studies relied upon by the plaintiff were scientifically flawed, so they could not, and should not, be used in its determination of the anchovy catch limit: In 2013, fisherman caught more anchovy than Thayer had estimated even existed.

Result

The court granted summary judgment for the defendant.