⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit reviews how federal fishery managers measured damage from bottom trawling in the Gulf of Alaska. Bottom trawling tows a net along the seafloor, where it can damage slow-growing coral and sponges. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires fishery plans to identify essential fish habitat, areas fish need to spawn, feed, or grow, and minimize adverse fishing effects to the extent practicable. Oceana says the agency's five-year updates unlawfully screened for harm using core habitat, the top half of predicted habitat use, and a minimum stock-size threshold, a population-level indicator. The agency says its full model covered the entire region and those metrics were only scientific indicators. First, Oceana must show standing: an actual member injury caused by the updates and likely redressable by the court.

Oceana, Inc. v. National Marine Fisheries Service, et al. (No. 25-7689) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 10, 2026.