'Bees are fish' is ruled

The California Court of Appeals recognizes and protects bumblebees as endangered 'fish' under California law in a case where a California environmental group has appealed to the state for the protection of a species of bee, the bumblebee . It is reported that he has ruled that he is eligible.

Bees are'fish' under Calif. Endangered Species Act – state court | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/bees-are-fish-under-calif-endangered-species-act-state-court-2022-06-01/

Bees Are Fish, California Court Rules
https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dgnn8/bees-are-fish-california-court-rules

In this case, environmental groups in California argued that bumblebees should be protected under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). According to the California Fisheries and Hunting Commission, California 's wildlife conservation agency, honeybees are declining year by year, and some species are endangered. Already, several wildlife conservation groups have petitioned that as of 2018, four bumblebee species should be on the California Endangered Species List.

Meanwhile, agricultural groups such as the Almond Alliance of California and the California Farm Bureau Federation have opposed the inclusion of bumblebees on the endangered species list, stating that 'CESA does not protect insects.' The effects of pesticide spraying have been pointed out on the decline in bumblebee populations, and one of the reasons for opposition from agricultural organizations is that if bumblebees are added to the endangered species list, it will be difficult to use pesticides.

As pointed out by agricultural organizations, CESA clearly states that only 'birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and plants' are protected, not insects. The CESA does not define what a 'fish' is, but the California Fisheries and Hunting Act, which ranks higher than the CESA, states that ''fish' includes soft organisms, shellfish, and invertebrates.' In the trial, the issue was whether or not this 'fish' contained Maruhana bees.

In 2020, the Sacramento County Superior Court in California ruled that invertebrates under the California Fisheries and Hunting Act include only aquatic animals and do not allow Maruhana bees to be listed on the Endangered Species List.

However, each environmental protection group appealed this ruling. Associate Judge Ronald Robbie of the California Court of Appeals said, 'It is generally understood that'fish' refers to aquatic animals, but the law does not limit it to that. Can be interpreted as including terrestrial and aquatic animals, and so far the state council has already approved the registration of at least one terrestrial soft-bodied animal. ' We have determined that it can be specified.

Following this ruling, the California Fisheries and Hunting Commission said it would tentatively protect the four bumblebee species in question as 'endangered species candidates' until it was considered whether to actually designate them. ..

'This decision is a victory for bumblebees, all endangered invertebrates in California, and CESA. Insects are California's agricultural production and healthy ecology,' said Matthew Sanders, an environmental law officer at Stanford University Law School. It is the cornerstone of the system. '

On the other hand, the chief lawyer of the agricultural organization commented, 'I was disappointed,' and said that he would like to decide whether to appeal further from this judgment.