Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute was joined by the National Federation of Independent Business in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which challenges whether the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service can force commercial fishermen not only to host, house, and feed federal government monitors on their vessels but also force the fishermen to pay the government employees’ salaries. 

“A fisherman’s boat is where they eat, sleep, and live for days at a time, often in small living and sleeping quarters. Into this small private home on the water, the government not only forces fishermen to share their home with government monitors, but it also forces fishermen to pay the salaries of these monitors,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “This is intolerable and violates the principles of privacy and freedom embedded in the Third and Fourth amendments in the U.S. Constitution. The Buckeye Institute urges the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case and uphold the rights of the fishermen against these unconstitutional intrusions.”

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute explains that the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which governs fishery management in federal waters, does not allow the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to force the regulated fishermen to pay the salaries of government-mandated bureaucrats living on their boats. These actions—forced upon fishermen when the NMFS ran out of money to pay its enforcement officers and decided to compel fishermen to come up with the difference—violate the constitutional requirement that Congress fund government operations.

This case was brought by Cause of Action Institute.

# # #

UPDATE: On May 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.