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Marine Mammal Protection Act |
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Called the first legislation to take an "ecosystem approach" to wildlife management, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) led to protection of not just endangered but all marine mammal species, and regulated taking, which is the harassing, hunting, capturing, killing, or collecting (or attempting to do any of these things) of marine mammals.
Criticisms: MMPA goes too far. Some fishing industry groups say MMPA regulations put animals before people. Gray seals were raiding the pens at some New England fish farms, but the MMPA forbid the fish farmers from doing anything to control the seals. Native American groups have expressed concerns that the law infringes on their traditional and treaty rights. Criticisms: MMPA doesn't go far enough. The US Navy has been taken task twice, once for using sonar that adversely effected whales, and once for a program to train dolphins to guard a submarine base. Other critics say the act should be expanded to include mammals held in captivity, like at Seaworld. For a summary of the MMPA, click here. For the complete text, click here. Read the all about the act at The Misunderstood Mariner.
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Monterey Bay's historic "wetfish" industry is under attack by extremist groups who claim overfishing is occurring. Touting studies with faulty calculations, activists are lobbying federal regulators to massively limit fishing, if not ban these fisheries outright. Apparently the facts don’t matter to groups with an anti-fishing agenda
