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Stop Seafood Importers From Fisheries Killing Marine Mammals
Final signature count: 995
995 signatures toward our 30,000 goal
Sponsor: Free The Ocean
The U.S. can block seafood tied to deadly marine mammal bycatch. Federal officials must enforce the law.
Whales, dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals can become trapped in commercial fishing gear, including gillnets, longlines, and trawls. Entanglement can cause drowning, deep wounds, exhaustion, starvation, or prolonged suffering.
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit in May 2026 against NOAA Fisheries and other federal agencies to stop seafood imports from eight foreign fisheries accused of killing too many marine mammals with fishing gear.1 The challenged imports involve fisheries connected to Argentina, Ecuador, India, Norway, Taiwan, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and Vanuatu.13
The case argues that the U.S. government is allowing seafood into the country even when foreign fisheries fail to meet marine mammal protection standards comparable to those required of U.S. fisheries.
The Law Already Gives The U.S. Power To Act
The Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provisions require foreign nations that export fish and fish products to the United States to maintain marine mammal bycatch standards comparable in effectiveness to U.S. standards.4 NOAA Fisheries states that nations denied comparability findings are prohibited from importing fish and fish products from those fisheries into the United States, effective January 1, 2026.5
That power matters because the U.S. is a massive seafood market. If the federal government enforces the law, foreign fisheries have a financial reason to reduce bycatch, improve tracking, and adopt safer gear.
NRDC says the lawsuit seeks to halt imports from fisheries that incidentally entangle and kill too many marine mammals.2 Animal Welfare Institute says the challenged fisheries often fail to sufficiently track how many marine mammals are killed, despite U.S. legal requirements.3
Seafood Should Not Come At The Cost Of Whales And Dolphins
Federal officials should enforce import prohibitions against fisheries that fail to meet U.S. bycatch standards. They should also require clear public documentation, improve seafood traceability, and close gaps that let high-risk products enter the U.S. market.
Consumers should not have to unknowingly buy seafood tied to preventable marine mammal deaths. U.S. fishermen are required to meet domestic standards. Foreign fisheries that sell into the same market should not receive a pass.
The government already has the legal authority. Now it must use it.
Sign now to urge NOAA Fisheries and federal trade agencies to enforce seafood import bans against foreign fisheries killing whales, dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals.
