"Bycatch is the biggest threat to whales and dolphins, but many seafood-exporting countries fail to take protective measure."
"Environmental groups on Thursday sued the United States government to ensure internationally sourced seafood doesn’t threaten whales or dolphins that become entangled or drown due to sometimes lethal fishing techniques.
The U.S., the world’s largest seafood importer, has long had laws ensuring that fishers in its waters don’t ensnare marine mammals as incidental “bycatch.” But the federal government has never enforced those laws, which require the nation to ban seafood imports from countries that don’t have similarly protective rules.
On Thursday, Earthjustice filed suit on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Animal Welfare Institute and the Center for Biological Diversity in the U.S. Court of International Trade, challenging seafood sales from eight countries that import to U.S. consumers. The suit alleges that commercial fisheries in these countries kill thousands of marine mammals in part by using lethal fishing gear, including gillnets, longlines and trawlers.
“The absolute biggest threat to marine mammals—whales, dolphins, porpoises—is bycatch,” said Sarah Uhlemann, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, who has long pressured the government to enforce its existing laws. “It’s not intentional, but it still kills 650,000 marine mammals a year,” she said.
The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act requires foreign fishers to meet U.S. standards, which require certain measures to protect marine mammals, including seasonal closures and robust reporting on marine mammal populations."
Georgina Gustin reports for Inside Climate News May 22, 2026.
