Lawsuit Challenges U.S. Seafood Imports from Eight Countries Over Marine Mammal Protection

Environmental groups sued the United States government on Thursday to require enforcement of federal rules on imported seafood that may harm whales, dolphins and porpoises. U.S. Court of International Trade, targets seafood imports from eight countries and claims the National Marine Fisheries Service has not applied standards set by the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

U.S. vessels. Those protections include seasonal closures, population monitoring and reporting requirements. The complaint states that commercial fisheries in the eight named countries use gillnets, longlines and trawlers that kill marine mammals as incidental catch.

Earthjustice filed the case on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Animal Welfare Institute and the Center for Biological Diversity. The suit challenges imports from Argentina, Ecuador, India, Norway, Taiwan, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu.

It alleges the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to determine whether those countries maintain adequate marine mammal safeguards. Sarah Uhlemann, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said bycatch is the largest threat to marine mammals and kills an estimated 650,000 animals each year.

She stated the agency has largely ignored the import requirements since the law took effect. U.S. fishers that follow the rules face a competitive disadvantage against countries whose fisheries are not held to the same standards. U.S. seafood consumption.

The National Marine Fisheries Service did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. The suit seeks court orders directing the agency to evaluate the eight countries' fishing practices and to restrict imports where protections are insufficient.