Fishermen from the U.S. state of New Jersey who oppose a federal regulation requiring them to pay for monitors to oversee their trips have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their case.
The New Jersey herring fishermen say a federal law gives NOAA the ability to make them pay up to USD 700 (EUR 680) per day to cover the costs of the monitors – which they claim is often more than what captains and crew members can earn on their trips.
The fishermen are represented by Cause of Action Institute and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, who filed the petition before the Supreme Court on Thursday, 10 November. Clement and Cause of Action are hopeful the case can be used to get the Supreme Court to finally overturn the so-called “Chevron deference,” which is a legal principle that courts have used to allow Congress to pass lawmaking authority to regulatory agencies.
“It is the duty of the judiciary to step in when any branch of government has abused its power,” Clement said in a statement. “This case is about correcting one such abuse and reining in executive overreach that threatens the livelihoods of fishing families and the constitutional balance of power.”
The case is similar to one fought by New Hampshire fishermen more than five years ago, although that case was lost because the fishermen in the groundfish fishery filed the lawsuit when NOAA started collecting the fee in 2015 and not when the agency enacted the policy in 2010.