Oceana Takes Small Win, Bigger Loss in Forage Fish Lawsuit

Opposing sides in a fishing lawsuit—an ocean conservation group and a fishing industry group—are each claiming victory in a recent federal court ruling.

"California’s fishing industry was ecstatic over the court decision that ruled against Earthjustice / Oceana’s lawsuit claim that sardines and other so-called forage species were being (or had the potential to be) massively overfished," stated Jeffrey Weidel of the California Wetfish Producers Association. He lauded the decision as a victory for coastal cities, including Monterey.

But Oceana, a nonprofit with California headquarters in Monterey, touted the ruling that the National Marine Fisheries Service had illegally adopted new regulations governing the management of northern anchovy. "The court ruled in favor of Oceana on this glaring omission," Oceana's press release states. (The photo above shows anchovies swimming in a cylindrical tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.)

The opposing sides are putting different spins of the April 12 ruling by Judge Joseph Chen of the U.S. District Court's Northern District of California.

Chen agreed with Oceana and its legal representative, Earthjustice, that federal fisheries managers violated federal law by failing to take scientific recommendations into account when setting catch levels for a subpopulation of northern anchovy.

But the judge would not address the merits of Oceana's wider claim that the feds should set more precautionary catch limits on other forage species, such as Pacific sardine, mackerel and market squid. Forage fish, also known as wetfish, are seafood at the base of the marine food chain.

The California Wetfish Producers Association celebrated that element of the ruling. "Oceana sought deep and unnecessary cutbacks in sardine fishing, as well as substantial harvest reductions in other 'forage fish' fisheries, including anchovies and market squid—which are already managed strictly and sustainably," stated a press release from the association.

Diane Pleschner-Steele, the association's executive director, added: “Fishermen in California and the West Coast are breathing a little easier today because the court saw through and rejected the main complaints in the Earthjustice / Oceana lawsuit, which was riddled with sensationalist claims based on unproven findings and conclusions."

Monterey Harbormaster Steve Scheiblauer applauded the ruling as well, saying wetfish account for more than 80 percent of the volume and value of seafood landed in the Monterey Bay area. "These landings are essential to maintain harbor infrastructure and the fishing economy, both locally and statewide," he says.

But Oceana officials vow to keep up the fight to protect forage fish.

“At a time when sardine populations are collapsing and sea lions are starving on the beach, the judge's failure to reach a decision on how to protect the ecosystem maintains the status quo and allows the fishing industry to drive ecologically critical populations of forage species to further decline,” says Geoff Shester, Oceana’s California program director.

Oceana spokeswoman Ashley Blacow clarifies that the judge did not rule current catch levels legal, but rather that the failure to account for ecosystem considerations in catch levels cannot be challenged at this time. "The fundamental question of whether catch levels comply with the law," she says, "is still unanswered."