US government sued over failure to enforce marine mammal protection in seafood imports

12 Aug 2024 --- A coalition of three animal protection and conservation organizations have taken federal officials and departments to the US Court of International Trade over their failure to implement the import directives of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The coalition seeks a court order mandating that the authorities enforce rules to ban seafood imports from countries where fisheries kill too many marine mammals.

Animal Welfare Institute, Center for Biological Diversity and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have filed a suit against the US Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), US Department of the Treasury, US Department of Homeland Security and their respective representatives.

Crackdown on bycatch

The MMPA is a national policy that aims to reduce marine mammal bycatch (unintentionally caught species) associated with international commercial fishing operations by holding countries exporting seafood to the US to the same standards as US fisheries.

“The US government has violated the MMPA for far too long, causing significant harm to marine mammals worldwide,” says Kate O’Connell, senior policy consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Wildlife Program.

“It is reprehensible that more than half a century after the MMPA was enacted, Americans are still buying seafood dinners with an invisible side of whale, dolphin, porpoise or seal. Enough is enough.”

Estimates say the US imports around 85% of its seafood from over 130 countries, including Canada, Indonesia, Ecuador and Mexico. It is the largest importer in the world, buying US$21 billion worth of seafood products annually, which is said to account for 15% of the world’s total value of seafood products in the market.

Estimates say the US imports around 85% of its seafood from over 130 countries.According to the coalition, more than 650,000 dolphins, whales, seals, and other marine mammals die or suffer severe injuries near fishing operations, which target seafood favorites such as swordfish, tuna and shellfish.

“Americans love whale- and dolphin-safe seafood, and US fishers take pride in putting more sustainable food on our tables,” notes Zak Smith, director of global biodiversity conservation at NRDC.

“But our government continues to let foreign fisheries peddle their whale- and dolphin-killing fish in the US market, while taxpayers and fishers spend millions domestically to do the right thing.”

The regulation

The MMPA regulations require fisheries abroad to prove that their methods of preventing bycatch are at par with US standards. The rule initially gave countries five years to vet their marine mammal stocks, calculate bycatch and develop regulations to reduce accidental trapping of aquatic creatures.

NMFS was to determine whether countries’ fisheries were meeting US standards after the grace period, and the US government was supposed to prohibit imports from non-compliant fisheries.

Multiple holdups, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and two delayed implementations, have put the ban on hold until January 1, 2026.

“The Marine Mammal Protection Act sets a strong international standard for preventing bycatch, but the US has been ignoring it and abandoning these iconic ocean animals for more than half a century,” says Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The whales and dolphins being caught in fishing nets around the world can’t afford any more delays. It’s long past time for the federal government to stop dragging its feet and start banning seafood imports from countries harming too many marine mammals.”