ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20021
No(s). 23-13577 (11th Cir. Feb 6, 2025)

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in a challenge to regulations promulgated by the Commission that restricted where and how Florida-registered fishing vessels could harvest Florida pompano in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. A Florida-based commercial fisherman argued the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act preempted state regulations affecting fishing in federal waters, and that FWC's regulations violated the Equal Protection Clause because they only restricted Florida-registered vessels. A district court concluded the fisherman lacked standing and granted summary judgment for the Commission. The appellate court concluded the fisherman did have standing, that Congress did not intend for the Act to preempt state fishing regulations, and that Florida's pompano regulations could not operate against non-Florida-registered vessels in federal waters, so the state's equal protection mandate did not encompass those vessels. Because FWC's regulations neither were preempted by federal law nor violated the Equal Protection Clause, the court affirmed summary judgment for FWC.