The Louisiana Shrimp Association (LSA) and the Pelican Institute are suing the Biden administration over a new rule requiring Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) on certain shrimping vessels.
They argue that the rule poses an unnecessary financial burden on shrimpers and is based on insufficient evidence of environmental threat.
Pelican Institute founder James Baehr, wrote, “The bureaucrats who instituted this rule ignored the economic devastation it will cause to shrimpers.”
“This unnecessary and unconstitutional rule is a direct attack on Louisiana livelihoods and culture,” he continued.
“These [NMFS] bureaucrats ignored data showing 1) the devastating financial impact the rule would have on Louisiana shrimpers and 2) the complete lack of environmental threat facing inshore turtles – as only two documented interactions with sea turtles have occurred in 55 years and neither was harmed – and turtle nests are thriving,” according to the lawsuit.
“Defendants have violated the [Administrative Procedures Act (APA)] by (1) failing to show the need for a new rule without any evidence that sea turtles inhabit Louisiana’s inshore waters and thereby encounter skimmer trawls, (2) refusing to consider relevant data supporting an exclusion zone for inshore waters of Louisiana despite the State of Louisiana’s request for an exclusion zone, and (3) ignoring significant industry reliance interests by the shrimpers,” the lawsuit continued.
“[D]espite a request from the Louisiana Department of Fish and Wildlife for the NMFS to delay the rule again in light of continuing challenges, the Defendants refused to delay the Final Rule’s effective date and Plaintiffs have paid the price,” explained the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also accuses the administration of violating regulatory protocol in implementing the rule.
The rule, initially issued in 2019, has faced multiple delays but is now being contested for its potential economic impact on shrimpers.
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