A conservation group sued federal fisheries managers over catch limits in the pollock trawl fishery, arguing that their regulations do not adequately protect northern fur seals in the Bering Sea.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Alaska on Wednesday, centers on the fur seal population on St. Paul Island, home to nursing females that rely on pollock to feed their pups.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based conservation group, alleges that NOAA Fisheries violated federal conservation laws by not including stronger protections for fur seals in its annual harvest limits for pollock by trawlers.
The group cites data that northern fur seals have declined by 70% on St. Paul Island since the 1970s.
“The federal government is legally required to make sure industrial fishing doesn’t devastate this vulnerable population of seals, but it’s failed to act for decades,” said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity, through a prepared statement.
NOAA Fisheries, also called the National Marine Fisheries Service, is responsible for ensuring fish stocks are sustainable and conserving marine life. The agency wrote in March that there is “not sufficient information” to determine if the pollock trawl fishery is disrupting fur seal populations on St. Paul Island in violation of federal law.
Similar long-running legal battles have been fought over trawl fishing and its impacts on Steller sea lion populations in Western Alaska.
Trawl fishing for pollock in the Bering Sea is divisive in Alaska. Supporters point to billions of dollars in economic activity and thousands of jobs created by the fishery. Opponents argue that trawling for pollock is leading to environmental damage and salmon bycatch.
The fur seal challenge has been assigned to Judge H. Russell Holland, a senior U.S. District court judge.