A group of fishing companies in New England in the United States is bringing its bid to try to end industry-funded monitoring programs to federal appeals court.
The companies are part of the industry that harvests Atlantic herring, which are heavily fished off the East Coast. The federal government requires herring fishing boats to participate in, and pay for, at-sea monitoring programs.
The government and some environmental groups have said the industry-funded monitoring programs are vitally important to collect data that helps craft fishing rules. But members of the industry have argued the monitors, who are on-board workers, cost hundreds of dollars a day and can make it impossible to turn a profit.
The companies sued at the federal district court level last year and lost. They filed an appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on Jan. 28 and are waiting on a response from the U.S. Department of Commerce and federal agencies that regulate fishing.
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