Anthropogenic underwater sound has the potential to cause adverse effects on cetaceans and cetacean populations. To better assess these potential impacts, NMFS recently finalized technical guidance for assessing acoustic effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammal hearing. More information is available online at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/guidelines.htm.

Marine debris is one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the global ocean today with millions of tons of debris entering the ocean annually. Marine debris can injure and kill cetaceans through entanglement in, and ingestion of, debris. In a study of marine debris ingestion it was found that 26 species of cetaceans are confirmed to ingest marine debris. A similar study, found that, in the U.S., nine species of cetaceans are confirmed to entangle in marine debris.

Interaction with fishing gear can incidentally injure and kill cetaceans and is a leading human-related cause of mortality and serious injury for multiple cetacean species (including North Atlantic right whales and harbor porpoise in the Atlantic Ocean, bottlenose dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, humpback whales in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, and false killer whales in the Pacific Ocean). NMFS works with the fishing industry and other experts to develop or modify fishing gear and practices to minimize bycatch.

The Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) is an independent agency of the U.S. government charged by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to further the conservation of marine mammals and their environment. The Commission works to ensure that marine mammal populations are restored and maintained as functioning elements of healthy marine ecosystems. It provides science-based oversight of domestic and international policies and actions of other U.S. federal agencies with regulatory authority for, or whose actions may affect marine mammals and their ecosystems.

In August 2016, NOAA Fisheries published a final rule implementing the fish and fish product import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (81 FR 54390; August 15, 2016). This rule establishes conditions for evaluating a harvesting nation’s regulatory programs to address incidental and intentional mortality and serious injury of marine mammals in fisheries producing fish and fish products exported to the United States.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are responsible for developing Stock Assessment Reports (SARs) for each marine mammal stock that occurs in waters under the jurisdiction of the United States.

Under the ESA, NMFS enters into agreements with states that establish and maintain an "adequate and active" program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. Once a state enters into such an agreement, NMFS provides federal funding through the Species Recovery Grants to States a competitive grant program for implementation of the state's conservation program. States use federal grant funding to support management, outreach, research, and monitoring projects with direct conservation benefits for threatened and endangered species.

The U.S. also protects cetaceans and their habitat through the designation of national marine sanctuaries, authorized under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. National marine sanctuaries, as well as marine national monuments, manage and protect designated areas of the nation’s oceans and Great Lakes and provide habitat for multiple cetacean and other protected species.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires all federal agencies to consider the effects of their activities on the human environment. Federal activities that may affect cetacean and other wildlife species, or their habitats, or other components of the human environment, must undergo an environmental analysis under NEPA. Activities that may affect cetaceans include seismic surveying, marine energy development, military exercises, coastal development (e.g., dredging, bridge construction, and port expansions), and scientific research activities.

In the U.S., a cetacean species deemed to be “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range” is protected as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Cetacean species which are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future are protected as “threatened.” The ESA prohibits the taking of any endangered or threatened species, including any distinct population segment (DPS) of a species, subject to certain exceptions.