Nonprofits sue for review of ruling already being reviewed

4-4-2019

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) — Federal officials say they may restrict salmon fishing off the West Coast to help the Pacific Northwest’s critically endangered killer whales, but two environmental groups are suing anyway to ensure it happens.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Wild Fish Conservancy asked the U.S. District Court in Seattle Wednesday to order officials to reconsider a 2009 finding that commercial and recreational fisheries did not jeopardize the orcas’ survival.

The National Marine Fisheries Service had already issued a letter last month indicating that they intend to do so.

Julie Teel Simmonds, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, says the point of the lawsuit is to ensure they finish the job with urgency,

The Endangered Species Act requires the government to certify that any actions it approves won’t jeopardize the survival of a listed species.