NJ is facing a potential lawsuit over alleged failure to protect endangered fish
The state of New Jersey is facing a lawsuit for allegedly failing to protect the endangered Atlantic sturgeon, according to the Delaware and Hudson Riverkeeper Network.
New Jersey, as well as New York and Delaware, are being accused of failing to obtain incidental take permits when operating within the habitat of the Atlantic sturgeon species, according to the lawsuit, that has yet to be officially filed. These permits will ensure commercial fisheries operate within Endangered Species Act and federal law, said Maya van Rossum, the leader of the Delaware River Network.
The suit claims the three states have allowed fisheries to kill the Atlantic sturgeon through bycatch, the act of catching and discarding of species that fishers may catch, but do not want, cannot sell or are not allowed to keep.
The lawsuit claims the states are violating the Endangered Species Act by not requiring and approving the permits.
The Riverkeeper Networks say a permit would avoid the illegal taking of the fish and would establish the tracking of the number of the fish killed in an area.
Atlantic sturgeon can be victims of bycatch through being caught in a trawl or gil net in which fisheries use to catch a massive amount of fish, said Delaware and Hudson Riverkeeper Network.
The organizations plan to file the lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as soon as the 60-day notice obligation has elapsed, said Rossum. The notice period started on July 18, 2024, the date when Delaware and Hudson Riverkeeper Network put out their press release on their intent to sue the three states.
Senior Press Officer at the NJ DEP Caryn Shinske declined to comment.
The Atlantic Surgeon in the Delaware River is the most "imperiled population of Atlantic Surgeon in the world," with less than 250 spawning adults left, said Rossum.
Rossum said the entirety of her career has been "one issue one harm, one threat after another impacting the Atlantic Surgeon and The National Marine Fishery Service at every single turn, turns a blind eye and does nothing."
The Riverkeeper explained to NorthJersey.com that the Atlantic Sturgeon in the Northeast are also victims of significant pollution that deprives their needed oxygen levels. The leader of the organization says the fish's critical habitat have been destroyed by dredging and development operations. The lawsuit, however, will only focus on the incidental take permits.
"It is well within the power and oversight of the states and NOAA Fisheries to protect the Atlantic Sturgeon from bycatch through changed and/or restricted practices," said Rossum.
The Atlantic Sturgeon are an endangered species as confirmed by the NOAA.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ facing lawsuit over failure to protect Atlantic sturgeon
