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87 Tul. L. Rev. 1281 (2012-2013)

handle is hein.journals/tulr87 and id is 1347 raw text is: COMMENTS Will the Rigs-to-Reefs Experiment Be Based on the Best Scientific Information Available? Kara K. McQueen-Borden* Artificial reefs constructed from decommissioned oilngs have been proposed as a tool to counteract declines in manne fish populations. There is so much uncertainty surroundirg tis relatively new proposition to deal with an nherntly dhf icult-to-study problem, however that it is not yet possible to tell whether these ngs-to-reefs will contribute to the recovery of fish populations or exacerbate the problem. The National Fishing Enhancement Act (NFEA), the statute authonzing the igs-to-reefs prognam. requies that agencies implementing it base thei decisions on the best scientific information available (BSI4). Although no court has yet addressed this provision in the NFEA, it has been the frequent subject of litigation in related statutes. This Comment explores how a Court would likely evaluate a challenge to agency action under the NFEA, based on companrsons to treatment of this provision under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Manne Mamrnal Protection Act (MMPA), and Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Concluding that courts will not likely supply the pressure to advance scientific information about the effects ofngsto-reefs, this Comment advocates for a tareted approach to closhg the information gap. I. INTRODUCTION. .............................. ...... 1282 II. WHAT IS THE BSIA FOR RIGS-TO-REEFS? ................ 1284 A. The Problem anda Proposed Salve: Fishenes Collapse andArtficial Reefs................. 1285 B. Attraction Versus Production .......... ....... 1286 III. THE NATIONAL FISHING ENHANCEMENT ACT....... ....... 1290 A. Statutory Overview ofArtificialReefRegulation.......... 1291 B. BSlA Standardrn the NFEA ................... 1291 IV BSIA STANDARDS IN OTHER STATUTES CONCERNED WITH OCEAN SPECIES. .............................. ......1 293 A. Endangered Species Act....................1 294 B. Maine Mammal Protection Act.......... ..... 1298 C Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and ManagementAct. .................... ..... 1301 V WHAT DOES BSIA MEAN IN THE NFEA? ......... ....1 304 * 0 2013 Kara K. McQueen-Borden. J.D. candidate 2013, Tulane University School of Law; M.S. 2007, University of Illinois at Chicago; B.A. 1999, cum laude, Wake Forest University. I would like to thank Professor Amy Stein for her thoughtful and energetic guidance, the senior editors and staff of the Tulane Law Review for their understanding and diligence, my family for their enduring support, and my daughters for occasionally napping. 1281

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