Judge Cans Menhaden Lawsuit

Southside Sentinel, Menhaden lawsuit dismissed

A $2 billion “False Claims Act” lawsuit alleging “figurehead fraud” against the Canadian seafood giant Cooke Inc. of St. John, New Brunswick, and Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters of Reedville was “dismissed in full” on Jan. 6 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

The “relators” (plaintiffs), Chris Manthey and W. Benson Chiles, sued “on behalf” of the United States government, including Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the United States Department of Transportation and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). MARAD is the agency that determines whether applicants satisfy American Fisheries Act (AFA) vessel citizenship requirements. The U.S. Government, MARAD and USCG were not plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The suit alleged Cooke Inc., Omega Protein, Alpha VesselCo. Holdings Inc. and others, violated the AFA (1998) and Jones Act (1920) that allows only U.S. citizens to fish in U.S. waters.

Judge Jesse M. Furman, who has been on the court since 2012, dismissed all of the alleged complaints and allegations. “For years, federal regulators have repeatedly found Ocean Harvesters to meet the relevant requirements to lawfully engage in commercial fishing activities,” stated a press release from Ocean Harvesters. “Through the lawsuit, the ‘relators’ attempted to supplant this regulatory regime by substituting their judgment for the considered views of federal officials.

“In dismissing the lawsuit, the court concluded that the False Claims Act does not permit the relators to do that, as they failed to meet the foundational requirements of even alleging that the companies deprived the U.S. Government of money or property.”

I wasn't aware that random people could file suit "on behalf of the US government." What a ness it would be if we all decided to do that!

I also googled Chris Manthey and W. Chiles Benson. Chris Manthey appears to be a typical environmental activist, who sometime writes at Huffpo, while W. Benson Chiles appears to be the founder of an environmental consulting company. 

It's not that I don't want to see Menhaden fishing curtailed, but I don't think this is the way to do it.