Three NJ herring fishermen made history at the Supreme Court, but their fight isn’t over
Three herring fishermen from Cape May fought the law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won. In doing so, the three men overturned the 40-year-old U.S. Supreme Court, thus making it easier for them and others to challenge federal regulations in court. But their battle is not over. The fishermen are challenging what they say is an unlawful requirement that forces them to surrender 20% of their earnings to pay at-sea monitors, who gather information that is used to regulate their industry. That worked out to as much as $700 a day, which is more pay than the crews take home sometimes. The requirement was imposed on them by an executive branch agency — in this case the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, which oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which in turn regulates the nation’s fisheries. The at-sea monitors were never approved by Congress, but due to the so-called Chevron deference, the fishermen were handicapped to fight the rule, because the courts always deferred to the regulatory agencies. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:50
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