Administrative – Fishing – regulations

New groundfish regulations applicable within the federal waters off New England’s coast are valid and enforceable, as the Secretary of Commerce’s “judgments here were derived from the record, rational, and not based on any error of law.”

Lovgren, et al. v. Locke, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-315-12) (68 pages) (Lynch, C.J.) (1st Circuit)

Appealed from a decision by Zobel, J., in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. James F. Kavanaugh Jr., with whom John Farrell Folan and Folan & McGlone were on brief, for plaintiffs-appellants New Bedford, Gloucester and Tempest Fisheries, et al.; Stephen M. Ouellette, with whom Ouellette & Smith and Caitlin W. Delphin were on brief, for plaintiffs-appellants Rhode Island Alliance of Fishermen, New Hampshire Commercial Fisherman’s Association, Richard Grachek and David Aripotch; Patrick F. Flanigan, with whom Thomas Bond, and The Kaplan/Bond Group were on brief, for plaintiff-appellant James Lovgren; Joan M. Pepin, with whom Ignacia S. Moreno, Robert J. Lundman, Andrea E. Gelatt, James A. Maysonett, Brian A. McLachlan and Gene S. Martin were on brief, for the federal defendants-appellees; Peter Shelley was on brief for defendant-appellee Conservation Law Foundation; Eldon V.C. Greenberg, with whom Garvey Schubert Barer and M. Pilar Falo were on brief, for Representatives Barney Frank and John Tierney, amicus curiae; Arthur P. Krieger, with whom Anderson & Krieger LLP, were on brief, for Food & Water Watch, Inc., amicus curiae; Roger Fleming, with whom Erica A. Fuller, Stephen E. Roady and Earth Justice were on brief, for Georges Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector, amicus curiae (Docket Nos. 11-