the Marine Mammal Protection Act

The Marine Mammal Protection Act is one of the keystone legal protections in the United States for whales, dolphins, porpoises and their neighbors... and thus seems to come under attack regularly by groups which believe it prevents them from doing something...

What is the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)?

It is legislation that was enacted by the Senate and The House of Representatives in 1972. It's purpose was to protect marine mammals and to establish a Marine Mammal Commission since it was discovered that man's activities can adversely diminish a marine mammal species and/or stock. The MMPA was based on preventing any depletion of a marine mammal below its optimal sustainable population level by legislating a moratorium on "taking", with certain exceptions, of marine mammals in U.S. waters, or by U.S. citizens, and/or importation of marine mammals or marine mammal products into the U.S. The MMPA defines "taking" as: "to harass, hunt, capture or kill or an attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill." "Taking" permits are allowed as long as the "taking" doesn't adversely affect the species and/or stock or the "taking" is for scientific research or to enhance the survival of the species and/or stock.

That sounds pretty complicated and, as you can imagine, over the years there have been numerous attempts to "clarify" this, both via lawsuits and legislation.

The American Cetacean Society (ACS) fully supports the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and ACS doesn't want to see any of the original protections of the MMPA compromised as is constantly threatened (ie: the Department of Defense (DoD) requests for exemptions MMPA).