Opinion ID: 3065390
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Relevant History

Text: The Council adopted the purpose of “better reflect[ing] historic use by sector” and declared “catch history” as one of three bases for determining sector allocations. Having done so, the Council was required by National Standard 2 to use “the best scientific information available” in furtherance of its stated goals. 16 U.S.C. § 1851(a)(2). Determining what time period to consider as relevant history was obviously important in evaluating historic use. The Council calculated catch history based on the years 1995 to 2003. That selection brings to mind Mark Twain’s observation: Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.”1 1 Mark Twain, Chapters from My Autobiography, 185 North American Review, No. DCXVIII., July 5, 1907, at 465, 471. There is doubt as to whether the attribution of the saying to Disraeli is correct. 1246 FISHERMEN’S FINEST v. LOCKE The AFA was adopted in 1998. Prior to that time, pollock was not reserved to the chosen few fishing vessels. After the AFA changed the rules of the game by granting the AFA sector its pollock monopoly, other fishermen were required to focus on other species, notably including Pacific cod. To no one’s surprise, in later years, when they couldn’t catch pollock, they caught more cod. Yet the Council defined “catch history” to include several years before the AFA changed the rules. The Council’s problem statement explained its reliance on pre-AFA data by stating that Consideration of just three or four recent years does not show dependency of the sectors over time and may be unduly biased because of increased market demand for Pacific cod in recent years for some products, potential decreased participation due to BSAI crab rationalization, and the likelihood of competition for Pacific cod among sectors in anticipation of this action. But these post-AFA market stimuli should make pre-AFA data less, not more, useful in reallocating Pacific cod going forward. Most importantly, the passage of the AFA in 1998 forced the non-AFA trawl CP sector to expand its Pacific cod operations to compensate for its exclusion from the pollock fishery, as the TAC shares discussed above confirm. That sector is still excluded from the pollock fishery by the AFA. The fishermen cannot go back to 1995-1998 circumstances. The Council should not pretend that they can, but that is exactly what A85 does. Relying on pre-AFA data to calculate the catch history of post-AFA players, without making any effort to adjust for the impact of the AFA, is manifestly unreasonable. The decisions of the Secretary and the Council are entitled to great deference, but that deference is not unchecked. I FISHERMEN’S FINEST v. LOCKE 1247 would hold that in curtailing the non-AFA vessels’ rights to harvest Pacific cod while expanding those rights in AFA vessels, the adoption of A85 violated § 211(a) of the AFA, and in using pre-AFA data to calculate “historic” catch it violated National Standard 2 of the MSA.