A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected claims by New England’s two largest fishing ports that federal regulators improperly enacted fishing rules that they say are wiping out local fleets.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision upheld a 2011 lower court ruling on a suit brought by the ports of New Bedford and Gloucester, as well as fishermen and fishing groups.
The plaintiffs argued the new rules were installed in 2010 without required safeguards, including a two-thirds referendum by fishermen that could have killed the changes before they were enacted. They asked the appeals court to order the lower court to implement the safeguards, alleging that without them, the industry’s smaller fishing businesses would be squeezed out.
But the three judge panel noted that, rather than destroying smaller business, many believe the new rules provide better protection. And it said federal regulators installed the law properly. ‘‘The Secretary (of Commerce’s) judgments here were derived from the record, rational, and not based on any error of law,’’ the court wrote.
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