Republican Lawmakers Target Marine Mammal Protection Act

Sun Oct 12 2025 12:22:16 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A bipartisan coalition of fishing groups supports proposed changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, arguing that existing regulations are overly restrictive.

Republican lawmakers are currently working on a bill aimed at modifying the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which was created in 1972 to protect marine species such as whales and seals. Conservative politicians believe that the MMPA restrictions are outdated and hinder commercial fishing. The changes could particularly impact the protections for endangered species such as the North Atlantic right whale, which has fewer than 400 individuals left. Environmental groups have raised concerns that these revisions could reverse decades of conservation efforts.

BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the U.S.'s longest standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction.

Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears, and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers, and other marine industries.

A GOP-led bill in the works has support from fishermen in Maine who say the law makes lobster fishing more difficult, lobbyists for big-money species such as tuna in Hawaii and crab in Alaska, and marine manufacturers who see the law as antiquated.

Conservation groups adamantly oppose the changes and say weakening the law will erase years of hard-won gains for jeopardized species such as the vanishing North Atlantic right whale, of which there are less than 400, and is vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear.

The law protects all marine mammals and prohibits capturing or killing them in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It allows for preventative measures to combat accidental harm from commercial fishing ships and other businesses. The law also prevents the hunting of marine mammals, including polar bears, with exceptions for Indigenous groups.

Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska has submitted a bill draft this summer that would roll back aspects of the law. Critics argue that changes may endanger species like the Rice’s whale, which numbers only in the dozens and lives in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gathering more accurate data about right whales while revising the original law would help protect the animals. Environmental groups have vowed to fight to save the protection act, stating that the proposed changes are part of a broader push against environmental protections.

Numerous fishing groups have come out in support of the proposed changes, arguing that they are essential for the industry's success. Restrictive marine mammal protections have been characterized as a hindrance to American fisheries, and there's growing concern about the impact on seafood imports from foreign fisheries that may not adhere to the same standards.

"author": "Associated Press"