Conservation NGO Oceana has filed an appeal challenging the dismissal of its lawsuit to block bottom trawling in the Gulf of Alaska.
The group claims that bottom trawling can cause substantial damage to seafloor coral and sponge habitats in the North Pacific and regulators ought to limit the practice to protect marine life.
“The science is clear and so is the law – deep-sea corals and sponges are critical to the health of fisheries and ocean ecosystems, and federal law requires fishery managers to protect them for that very reason,” Oceana Fisheries Campaign Director and Senior Scientist Ben Enticknap said in a release. “Some corals in the Gulf of Alaska are hundreds of years old, and it’s terrifying to think that they are vulnerable to the destruction of a trawl net when there are reasonable and responsible ways to protect them while still allowing for productive fisheries.”
In 2023, Oceana submitted a proposal to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council that would freeze bottom trawling in 90 percent of the Gulf of Alaska. The group claimed that the action would displace just 5 percent of the commercial fishing area; however, the council did not direct staff to engage with the proposal, and Oceana opted to pursue a legal solution.
Represented by environmental law firm Earthjustice, Oceana sued NOAA Fisheries in 2024, challenging the agency’s 2023 Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) 5-year Review and other documents that concluded commercial trawling only had a minimal and temporary impact on essential fish habitat in the Gulf of Alaska. In the lawsuit, the group claimed the government was failing to protect fish habitat as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Commercial trawling interest groups, including the At-Sea Processors Association, Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, and Groundfish Forum, intervened to oppose the lawsuit alongside NOAA Fisheries.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska ultimately sided with the government, issuing a 30 September ruling that deferred to NOAA Fisheries’ expertise in evaluating trawling’s impact on fish habitat. Judge Sharon Gleason also noted that the government was not required to consider Oceana’s 2023 proposal and dismissed the lawsuit.
“Because the MSA does not dictate that NMFS consider every conservation and enhancement proposal put before it, NMFS’s failure to consider Oceana’s proposal did not violate the MSA,” Gleason said.
Now, Oceana has filed an appeal, looking to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to revive their lawsuit.
“Federal fisheries managers have failed to uphold their statutory duty to minimize harm to important seafloor habitats from the destructive effects of trawl fishing” Earthjustice Senior Attorney Kate Glover said in a release. “We’re asking the appellate court to take a closer look at the way these managers analyze adverse fishing impacts on vulnerable corals and sponges and require them to meet their statutory obligations to protect essential habitats that support the fisheries they manage.”
Oceana has also continued to push for bottom trawling limitations at the regulatory level. The organization submitted an updated version of its Gulf of Alaska Habitat Protection Proposal at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s most recent meeting, this time noting that the plan could displace up to 7 percent of the commercial fishing area.
