Written question asked by Baroness Boycott (Crossbench) on Tuesday, 9 September 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 September 2025. It was answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 September 2025 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Marine Animals: Animal Welfare

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they made to the government of the United States as part of their application for a comparability finding under the Marine Mammal Protection Act import provisions.

Answer: In 2021 the Government worked with the Devolved Administrations, Marine Management Organisation, Joint Nature and Conversation Committee and academia, to submit a suite of evidence to support the UK’s application for a comparability finding in respect of the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The MMPA Import Provisions require that harvesting nations maintain a regulatory programme to address the intentional and incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals in their export fisheries that is comparable in effectiveness to the U.S. regulatory programme. In August 2025, having reviewed this this evidence, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States found the United Kingdom’s regulatory programme to be comparable to the US, meaning trade in fisheries products can continue as before.

Secondary information