Question Period Note: U.S. Marine mammal protection act import provisions

U.S. Marine mammal protection act import provisions

Our government, working with Canadian industry, is committed to protecting marine mammals from entanglement in fishing gear and maintaining access to the U.S. market.

We continue to work closely with Canadian harvesters, and other stakeholders to meet the new U.S. import requirements coming into force in 2023.

When it comes to the protection of North Atlantic right whales, we are proud of the robustness of our measures and are confident that they meet or exceed the U.S. standards.

Prohibiting the lethal removal of nuisance seals
The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import requirements include a prohibition on the intentional killing of marine mammals during commercial fishing activities.

Canada prohibits this type of activity through the Marine Mammal Regulations (Section 7). Moreover, my department has since 2020 ceased issuing Nuisance Seal Licences.

The United States has advised that these measures meet their import requirements under the MMPA.

• The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provisions were finalized at the end of 2016, but entry into force was originally stayed for five years while the U.S. works with exporting countries – like Canada – through the implementation and compliance process.
• Recently, the U.S. extended the implementation of the MMPA import provisions by another year – until January 1, 2023.
• The new rules establish conditions for evaluating a harvesting nation's regulatory program for reducing marine mammal incidental mortality and serious injury during the course of commercial fishing and aquaculture operations.
• In order to maintain U.S. market access in 2023, fish and seafood-harvesting nations must meet or exceed U.S. standards in terms of mitigating marine mammal bycatch.
• The U.S. is Canada’s major export market for fish and seafood, valued at just under $4.9B in 2019.
• On September 10, 2019, Canada submitted data via the U.S. secure data portal on progress in implementing the MMPA, an important milestone on the way to meeting new import requirements.
• On May 14, 2020, DFO, in collaboration with industry, submitted Canada’s revised list of fisheries that export their fish and seafood products to the U.S., another important milestone of the compliance process.
• Canada’s final submission for comparability findings for its over 300 fisheries is due by November 30, 2021.
• Among the new U.S. requirements for nations harvesting fish and seafood products for export to the U.S., is the need to prohibit the lethal removal of nuisance seals during the course of commercial fishing and aquaculture operations.
• The Department prohibits the intentional killing of marine mammals through section 7 of the Marine Mammal Regulations (MMR). However, the intentional killing of nuisance seals is authorized via Nuisance Seal Licences issued under the MMR and conditions of licence issued under the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations (PAR).
• Given the problems that NSL issuance pose with respect to a central objective of the MMPA and the associated risk of jeopardizing U.S. market access in fisheries that use Nuisance Seal Licences, in December 2019 the Department ceased issuing them. This action followed a March 2019 decision by the Department to no longer permit the lethal removal of nuisance seals at aquaculture operations.
• The Department has received confirmation from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that a Ministerial Statement confirming that Canada would not issue Nuisance Seal Licences to protect fishing equipment, and that Canada would inform the U.S. if this changed, would be considered a comparable approach to U.S. measures to protect marine mammals for the purpose of the U.S. MMPA Import Provisions.

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