ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20083
No(s). 21-1873 (1st Cir. Jul 12, 2022)

The First Circuit vacated a district court order preliminarily enjoining NOAA's partial seasonal closure of a Maine lobster fishery to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. A fishing union argued the closure was an arbitrary and capricious application of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the district court enjoined NOAA from implementing the closure pending a ruling on the merits. The appellate court granted NOAA's motion to stay the injunction, finding that the district court misconstrued the record and overstepped its role in rejecting judgments of the agency charged with protecting endangered marine mammals. The appellate court then turned to the merits of NOAA's challenge to the now-stayed injunction, and found no reason to alter its initial analysis. It vacated the injunction and remanded to the district court for further proceedings.