Fish Northwest (FNW) is a Washington nonprofit corporation committed to the conservation and preservation of Puget Sound salmon and to restoring sustainable fishing opportunities for Washington’s anglers. At 5 PM today FNW filed suit in the Federal Court, Western District of Washington, claiming the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and other federal agencies are violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 process required for allowing fisheries. That abuse has led to overharvesting collectively by the co-managers. This is FNW’s second lawsuit. The first lawsuit, filed in October of 2020, asked the federal court to force compliance of both the Boldt Decision and the Puget Sound Salmon Management Plan to the management of salmon by the State of Washington, ensuring all parties have access to 50% of the harvestable salmon. The second lawsuit, filed today, charges NMFS with violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by: 1) not allowing the State to pursue an ESA Section 7 permit; 2) allowing the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to obtain a Section 7 permit when they have no legitimate standing to obtain a permit; and 3) ignoring the conservation requirements of Puget Sound Chinook.
COURT DOCUMENTS (LAWSUIT #2):
