Fisheries

Representative Client Work

Represented a major fishing and processing company in a challenge to National Marine Fisheries Service allocations for the multi-million dollar Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Pacific Cod fishery under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Fishermen’s Finest, Inc. v. Gutierrez, 2008 WL 2782909 (W.D. Wash.)

Appeal pending, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals No. 08-36024.

Represented a group of California trawl vessel owners affected by the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s trawl rationalization program in the development of a fair and equitable catch shares program for the non-whiting groundfish fishery.

Program was revised in order to preserve adequate incidental catch shares for our clients’ continued prosecution of their directed fisheries.

Represented a vessel owner before the Pacific Fishery Management Council with respect to an emerging limited entry program for Pacific whiting and preserved our client’s ability to continue its long-time participation in the fishery.

Secured client’s ability to continue to fish for Pacific whiting.

Lead coordinating counsel for multiple fishing industry parties in defense of a challenge under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) involving Steller sea lions by environmental groups to Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska fishery management plans that threatened to shut down commercial fishing in large areas of the ocean off of Alaska. Greenpeace, American Oceans Campaign v. National Marine Fisheries Service, 237 F. Supp. 2d 1181 (W.D. Wash. 2000), 106 F. Supp. 2d 1066 (W.D. Wash. 2000), 198 F.R.D. 540 (W.D. Wash. 2000), 80 F. Supp. 2d 1137 (W.D. Wash. 2000), 55 F. Supp. 2d 1248 (W.D. Wash. 1999).

This multi-year federal court litigation permanently and significantly changed how multi-million dollar trawl fisheries are conducted in Alaska, but in a manner that allowed our clients to successfully continue their long-time fishing businesses.

Provided pro bono representation for a coalition of sports fisherman in a lawsuit filed in federal court seeking to enforce the United States’ obligation to conduct section 7 consultation under the ESA before allowing endangered salmon and steelhead to be imported into the United States from Canada.

This listing attempts to force the federal government to consider the impact of recreational fishing in Canada on threatened Northwest salmon populations.The same coalition previously challenged the assessment of impacts from commercial fishing in Canada and of all fisheries affecting threatened Puget Sound Chinook.