Congress is considering a dangerous draft bill that would gut the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), one of America’s most effective and long-standing conservation laws. If passed, this reauthorization bill would put whales, dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals at grave risk. The MMPA has protected marine mammals for over 50 years by requiring healthy populations and strong safeguards against harmful human activities. But the current draft reauthorization would:
- Weaken the standard from maintaining healthy populations to merely ensuring survival — a dangerously low bar.
- Strip agencies of tools to mitigate industrial impacts like oil and gas drilling.
- Allow expanded offshore drilling at the expense of marine life.
- Make it nearly impossible to limit how many marine mammals can be harmed or killed.
- Delay urgently needed protections for critically endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale.
- Undermine U.S. leadership by opening our markets to seafood caught in foreign fisheries that kill marine mammals indiscriminately.
We cannot let decades of progress be undone. Please urge your legislators to oppose this reckless bill and instead strengthen protections for marine mammals and our ocean ecosystems. Thank you for standing with us to protect our oceans and the incredible creatures that call them home.
