A federal judge has ordered the National Park Service to get cracking on establishing a marine reserve zone in the sprawling and politically sensitive Biscayne National Park.
In what amounts to a split decision, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras on March 29 directed the National Park Service to designate the Florida park’s commercial fishing-free marine reserve zone “as soon as practicable.”
“The Court holds that NPS cannot wait any longer,” Contreras wrote.
That was a victory for the National Parks Conservation Association, which filed the lawsuit more than three years ago in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Contreras sided with the National Park Service, though, in deciding that the agency “has no duty” to implement a broader parkwide phase-out of commercial fishing.
