April 10, 2023 — The U.S. Department of the Interior has arrived at a settlement of a lawsuit demanding it certify Mexico as not adequately protecting the critically endangered totoaba and vaquita porpoise.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2020 in the U.S. Court of International Trade by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Animal Welfare Institute, demands the U.S. government certify Mexico under a U.S. law called the Pelly Amendment, which would allow the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to embargo the import of wildlife products from Mexico, including shrimp and fish. The U.S. imported around USD 745 million (EUR 687 million) of seafood from Mexico in 2022.