Come January 1, 2026, in order to receive authorization to export their products to the US, foreign fisheries and nations will be required to provide “reasonable proof” that they adhere to US standards for preventing marine mammal bycatch.

“Bycatch” is the term for when sea creatures other than the desired target are accidentally caught up in fishing gear and then discarded. According to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), this results in the death of over 650,000 marine mammals worldwide each year.

“Bycatch not only affects marine mammal populations but also raises serious animal welfare concerns,” said Georgia Hancock, program director and senior attorney for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Wildlife Program, in a statement. 

“While most animals entangled in fishing gear die by drowning, those who escape often suffer prolonged injuries, such as cuts, broken bones, or amputations, and die weeks or months after their entanglement.”

With the US importing $25.5 billion worth of seafood in 2023, the news that the import ban will soon come into effect has been welcomed by conservation groups.

“I’m relieved other nations will finally be pressured to prevent whales and dolphins from getting caught in fishing nets. Entanglement is a huge threat to these animals’ survival,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the CBD – which was part of a lawsuit aiming to bring about the ban. “The United States has the power to use its enormous seafood market to help the world’s oceans, and it’s about time we started.”

The ban has its origins in 1972, with the enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Within the act, there’s a provision that prohibits the import of seafood from countries that don’t have the same standards as the US for preventing marine mammal bycatch.

However, according to conservationists, that ban has rarely been enforced. Then, in 2016, NOAA Fisheries took initial steps in implementing a rule to support the provision. The rule also included a five-year exemption period, starting in January 2017 (despite opposition) to allow time for countries and fisheries to change their own regulations and practices where necessary.

Since then, the exemption period has been extended three times: once in 2020, again in 2022, and then in 2023.

This decision, said NOAA Fisheries, was “influenced by the considerable number of foreign fisheries, the evolving nature of fisheries data, and the practical challenges associated with assessing the comparability of regulatory programs in foreign countries.”

Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the CBD, said in a 2024 statement that “The Marine Mammal Protection Act sets a strong international standard for preventing bycatch, but the United States has been ignoring it and abandoning the iconic ocean animals it’s supposed to protect for more than half a century.”

“Whales and dolphins being caught in fishing nets around the world can’t afford any more delays. It’s long past time for the federal government to stop dragging its feet and start banning seafood imports from countries harming too many marine mammals.”

Amid the most recent delay, conservation groups moved to speed things up. Together, the CBD, the Animal Welfare Institute, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a suit against the US Department of Commerce, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the US Department of the Treasury, and the US Department of Homeland Security, aiming to get a court order for the ban to be implemented.

That suit has now been settled, and the ban is due to go into effect on January 1, 2026.

“Today’s agreement will ensure some relief for threatened marine mammals suffering from bycatch, level the playing field for fishermen working hard to protect marine mammals, and give consumers more confidence that the seafood they consume does not needlessly kill the whales and dolphins they love,” concluded Zak Smith, a senior attorney at NRDC.