Organized Fishermen of Florida v. Watt

590 F. Supp. 805, 14 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15153
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJuly 6, 1984
Docket80-0789-Civ-SMA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 590 F. Supp. 805 (Organized Fishermen of Florida v. Watt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Organized Fishermen of Florida v. Watt, 590 F. Supp. 805, 14 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15153 (S.D. Fla. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ARONOVITZ, District Judge.

L — NATURE OF THE ACTION

Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201, 2202, prohibiting defendants from enforcing 36 C.F.R. § 7.45(e)-(h), as amended at 45 Fed.Reg. 10350 (1980). These regulations, which became effective on March 17, 1980, restrict certain fishing practices in Everglades National Park by: (1) imposing bag limits of ten fish of one species and not more than a total of twenty fish of all species; (2) prohibiting all commercial fishing in Park waters as of December 31, 1985; and (3) establishing sanctuaries for endangered and threatened species within the Park by closure of certain areas to all public entry.

Heretofore this Court denied Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction after an evidentiary hearing. Organized Fishermen of Florida, etc. v. Andrus, etc., 488 F.Supp. 1351 (S.D.Fla.1980). Many of the same issues addressed at that hearing are readdressed here after the record has been supplemented by a complete Administrative Record of Proceedings (“AR”), additional discovery, and pleadings. This matter is presently before the Court upon cross-motions for summary judgment. 1

II. — PLAINTIFFS’ ISSUES

Although Plaintiffs have stated their issues in more specific terms as hereinafter *808 noted, essentially Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint charges, in Plaintiffs’ words at Plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 17:

“This case is a blatant example of governmental over-reaching. Eager to placate wrongheaded sports fishing interests, Defendants (the “Government”) adopted regulations eliminating commercial fishing in the Park knowing full well that such regulations violate their agreement with the State of Florida, that commercial fishing has not been adversely affecting Park resources, and that the Park’s own data did not support the conclusion that commercial fishing should be banned...”

III. — THIS COURT’S PRIOR MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

This Court’s prior Order at 488 F.Supp. 1351 (S.D.Fla.1980), supra, set forth many grounds that were advanced by Plaintiffs. The statements of law therein set forth and found by the Court are still applicable with equal force upon the more complete record now before the Court, and thereupon, that prior Memorandum Opinion is hereby ADOPTED and made a part hereof.

After this Court entered its Memorandum Opinion on April 29, 1980, this cause was held in abeyance at the suggestion of the parties until cross-motions for summary judgment could be filed. During the interim Defendant NATIONAL PARK SERVICE held numerous public and private^ meetings with Plaintiffs and other interested parties.

IV. — FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The following factual matters advanced by Defendants are supported and uncontradicted in the record: 2

1. In 1934, Congress enacted the law which authorized establishment of the Park at such time that title to sufficient lands in the region of the Everglades had been vested in the United States. 16 U.S.C. § 410.

2. The 1934 Act provided for the administration of the Park in accordance with generic National Park Service (“NPS”) authorities, Sections 1 and 2-4 of Title 16, subject to protection of the existing rights of the Seminole Indians. 16 U.S.C. § 410b. Congress further provided that the area be administered as a wilderness, and that the unique flora and fauna and essential primitive natural conditions then prevailing in the area be preserved intact. 16 U.S.C. § 410c.

3. The legislation made no reference to commercial fishing.

4. At the time the Florida legislature considered the legislation to authorize the donation of state lands and funds for the Park, one legislator and several officials of the State government sought clarification of the views and policies of the NPS regarding commercial fishing. (AR-2) The Director of the NPS stated that it was his view that commercial fishing would be permitted to continue after the establishment of the Park. Other similar statements were made subsequently. (AR-2)

5. Following formal establishment of the Park in 1947, the NPS promulgated regulations regarding commercial fishing. (AR-10, pp. 28-29)

6. On February 7, 1978, the Superintendent of the Park received a petition bearing close to 5,000 names, expressing concern over the “diminishing sport fish population” and requesting that the NPS establish bag limits on redfish and trout throughout the Park. (AR-6) In response to the petition and other complaints regarding the condition of the sport fishery in the Park (AR-5), the NPS undertook a study of *809 the fishery resource using computerized data acquired during the preceding years from commercial and sport fishermen.

7. The NPS examined various management options designed to reduce pressures on the fishery resources and to allocate those resources among park wildlife, recreational fishermen, and commercial fishermen. The NPS commissioned Centaur Associates, Inc. to study the socio-economic impacts associated with the various management alternatives under consideration. In December 1978, the Socio-economic Assessment of Fishery Management Options-Final Report was completed. (AR-BI

8. In January 1979, the Park Service issued the Assessment of Fishery Management Options in Everglades National Park, Florida (“Assessment”) (AR-10), which contained the results of its own analyses and those provided by the Centaur Report.

9. The NPS held four public workshops in South Florida. The workshops were attended by over 600 people. (AR-30, p. 3) Special interest groups represented included commercial fishermen, sport fishermen, guide fishermen, conservation groups, and boaters. (AR-30, p. 3) Written comments were also received and reviewed. (AR-24) There was consultation with the State of Florida Department of Natural Resources, federal agencies and the American Crocodile Recovery Team. (AR-15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29)

10. Following analysis of the public comments, the NPS prepared a Review of Fishery Management Alternatives, Everglades National Park (“Review”). (AR-30) The Review summarized the NPS findings on the impacts of the numerous proposed options. The Review identified the preferred alternatives for a proposed rulemaking and the reasons for selecting those alternatives.

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Bluebook (online)
590 F. Supp. 805, 14 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/organized-fishermen-of-florida-v-watt-flsd-1984.