The Natural Resources Defense Council has attacked US seafood imports, saying the country should protect endangered marine mammals by cracking down on foreign fisheries supplying country’s wild-caught seafood.
In order to put wild-caught seafood on dinner tables, more than 650,000 marine mammals are killed or seriously injured every year in foreign fisheries after being hooked, entangled or trapped in fishing gear, and enforcement of a US law to protect marine mammals could help prevent tens of thousands of these deaths, according to NRDC’s new report.
The report, titled ‘Net loss: the killing of marine mammals in foreign fisheries’ finds that 91% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported and nearly every foreign fish product sold in the US violates a federal marine mammal protection law.
The wild-caught seafood most enjoyed by Americans – shrimp, tuna, crab, lobster, and salmon – present a particularly significant risk to marine mammals due to the dangerous fishing practices associated with them abroad, the NGO said.
Until the US enforces the law, which requires importing countries to prove they are meeting American standards, consumers can play a role in protecting whales, dolphins and sea lions by choosing American-caught seafood, it added.
“For 40 years, federal watchdogs have failed to enforce a law that could save thousands of whales and dolphins from negligent foreign fishing practices,” said Zak Smith, attorney with NRDC and co-author of the report.
“At the same time, well-meaning US fishermen are being undermined by their own government, which holds them accountable, but not their foreign counterparts.”
Criticism of foreign fisheries extended to Canada, where the report said whales and harbour porpoises are dying because fisheries on the East Coast, notably those that produce crab and lobster, don’t use the same catching techniques.
“Bycatch isn’t just a moral issue, it’s simple economics,” said Acy Cooper, vice president of the Louisiana Shrimpers Association.
“Foreign fishing companies can undercut our prices because they don’t have to invest in ensuring that their exports to the US were caught in a manner that protects marine mammals. Until foreign fleets see real consequences for failing to abide by the law, marine mammals will continue to be harmed around the world and American fishermen will be disadvantaged.”