The structure of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which oversees waters from New York to Virginia, has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court. The 3rd Circuit sided with two fishermen who sued after the council amended a plan in their region. This decision follows a series of legal challenges and rulings, including a recent en banc decision by the 5th Circuit that found the USF funding mechanism unconstitutional. Additionally, a federal circuit court stripped a regional fishery management council of its pocket veto power and its ability to block the US Secretary of Commerce from taking actions to manage fisheries that the panel does not support.