Proposed House Bill Would Weaken Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangering Whales, Dolphins and More

The law that saved the whales is attacked

By Ryan Green Edited by Andrea Gawrylewski

A historic law was adopted more than 50 years ago to protect whales, dolphins and other marine mammals in American waters could be upset by the changes proposed on July 22 during a legislative hearing of the Commission of the House of Natural Resources of the Water, Water and Fisheries Sub-Comeding.

The Republican representative Nicholas Begich of Alaska proposed changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMA) which, according to some scientists, would eviscerate it. For example, the modifications would cover the current definitions of the damage or the disruption of marine mammals while requiring “incredibly high obstacles for the action of conservation”, according to a information sheet by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations published earlier in July. These obstacles include a much higher proof burden to justify even simple conservation actions.

The Navy Mammal Protection Act was adopted in 1972 with bipartite support and was implemented after 150 years of industrial hunting, where certain whale populations fell 5% or less from their historical estimates.

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Since its death, not a single kind of marine mammal in American waters has disappeared, even if the use of the ocean has increased. The law supervised the amazing recovery of species such as humpback whales – according to a 2006 study, the abundance of humpback whales of the North Pacific was estimated at 21,063 individuals, recovered from what national estimates of the ocean and atmospheric administration could only have been a few thousand people in the 1970s.

“Some of the most convincing conservation stories in recent history” have the MMA to thank, explains Lauren Eckert, a postdoctoral scholarship looking for conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia.

Some marine mammals have not yet completely recovered and, in these cases, the act plays a crucial role as a final line of defense against extinction. Take the right whale from the North Atlantic; If even one of these critical endangered animals is lost, “it could make the difference between them being here at 100 years and their absence,” explains John Hildebrand, professor at the Institution of Oceanography scripps, who studies the sound used by marine mammals. “Without the MMA, these groups would have very little chance of going ahead,” he says. “With the MMA, they have a chance to fight.” These mammals are vital not only for ocean ecosystems but also economies; According to a study in 2020 of the NOAA, the Alaska whale observation industry reports more than $ 100 million per year.

Amendments are scientific hamstrings that have proven itself for decades, according to experts. They would require scientists to obtain “systematic and complete abundant studies data” or exact accounts of the number of animals, to establish any loss of loss of marine mammals. “It is worrying because the long -term systematic surveys of these populations are already extremely difficult and will become more,” explains Eckert.

In addition, the project to demarcate the requirements to maintain healthy populations of marine mammals to a “minimum survival of populations”. Instead of requiring lasting and genetically diverse populations, this would require a much lower bar for the number of individuals in the wild.

Scientists contacted by American scientist are also concerned with the modifications proposed in the way in which the protections are granted; Under these modifications, the United States would only recognize the protections of marine mammals where there was a direct Effect rather than including the indirect effects that are currently in the MMA. “The death of marine mammals which are not directly observed and documented are excluded from any taking [animal capture allowances] Or a regulatory action, ”explains Eckert. Although military sonar or offshore drilling can have deep consequences for marine mammals, it would almost become impossible to regulate these activities in the name of animal protection, she adds.

The amendments would also undermine the process known as the “socket reduction planning”, which protects marine mammals which are accidentally captured or tangled in fishing equipment, called “accessory socket”, by eliminating a key backup which limits the deaths of marine mammals. This is particularly dangerous for the right whale from the North Atlantic in critical danger, for which tangles are a main threat.

The project of modifications contradicts republican rhetoric on the protection of ocean life. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have actively blocked offshore wind projects that follow environmental regulations, saying that they endanger whales (ship strikes and net tangles are greater dangers). In addition, this project takes shape in tandem with another extreme proposal which would repeal a large part of the endangered species law, which has historically worked harmoniously with the MMA.

In the coming months, stakeholders who push this project could decide to remove it, resolve certain aspects or advance it as. If the bill is adopted, it would pass through the standard legislative process, perhaps even go to the Senate for a vote.

Regardless of what is happening, “this is an extreme bill. This is essentially a rewriting of the entire law on the protection of marine mammals, “explains Jane Davenport, lawyer for the conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife, one of the groups that published the July information sheet. “The global push will mainly put a stake at the heart of the status.”

Many animals that would lose protection against MMPA changes are already vulnerable to climate change, explains Jeff Boehm, former executive director of Marine Mammal Center. “They embody the oceans so much,” he says, “and a more serious assault on the way this nation manages and keeps marine mammals, I cannot imagine.”

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