Fisheries Service Appeals Order to Redo Study on Gulf Species

A federal wildlife agency wants an appeals court to review a judge’s order to conduct a new study on an imperiled species in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Marine Fisheries Service will ask the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reverse a finding that the agency must redo the biological opinion behind Biden-era restrictions on oil exploration in the Gulf, according to a notice filed Tuesday.

At issue is a determination issued by the agency last year that predicts oil and gas program vessels will lethally strike Rice’s whale and jeopardize the animal’s existence.

Louisiana, with ...