Plan to Save Dusky Shark From Overfishing May Be Inadequate

The National Marine Fisheries Service may not be doing enough to protect and save the dusky shark, a highly migratory predator, from overfishing in coastal waters, a federal court said.

The agency believes the impact of overfishing on the dusky shark is small, but its failure to examine all available relevant data violates the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which is designed to reverse the effects of overfishing, Judge Christoper R. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled March 11.

The agency must now take a fuller view of bycatch data or explain to the court why it ...