Commercial Fishing Groups Ask Fourth Circuit to Block Bass Limits in Chesapeake Bay

Maryland commercial fishing groups argued to a Fourth Circuit panel that an interstate commission’s regulations on striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay violates the Constitution. 

Delmarva Fisheries Association and the Maryland Charter Boat Association sued the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission over 2024 regulations that the plaintiffs claim violate the Fifth Amendment’s taking clause and cut their revenue by upwards of 70%.

The groups appealed after a Maryland federal judge denied their motion for a preliminary injunction. U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker, a Barack Obama appointee, questioned why the fishing groups would want to challenge the regulations. 

“Isn’t this regulation intended to save and preserve the striped bass?” Thacker asked. “If you take that at face value, then without this, the striped bass could become extinct, and your client would lose 100% of its business.”