A US federal appeals court has reinstated a rule limiting lobster and Jonah crab fishing off the Massachusetts coast, aiming to protect endangered whales. The court rejected a claim that the agency overstepped in setting the rule, citing a recent Supreme Court decision.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston delivered a 3-0 decision supporting the National Marine Fisheries Service’s authority. The court upheld the ban from February 1 to April 30 annually, on the use of vertical buoy lines in the Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge.
Environmental groups hailed the decision as a victory for conservation, arguing it is based on robust scientific findings safeguarding the North Atlantic right whales.