Marine mammal the attempt at such") of any marine mammal without a permit issued by the Secretary. Authority to manage the MMPA was divided between the Secretary of the Interior through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and the Secretary of Commerce, which is delegated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) was established to review existing policies and make recommendations to the Service and NOAA to better implement the MMPA. The Service is responsible for ensuring the protection of sea otters and marine otters, walruses, polar bears, the three species of manatees, and dugongs;
Marine mammal University of Pittsburgh showed that the ancestors of many marine mammals stopped producing a certain enzyme that today protects against some neurotoxic chemicals called organophosphates, including those found in the widely used pesticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon. Marine mammals may be increasingly exposed to these compounds due to agricultural runoff reaching the world's oceans. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA) was passed on October 21, 1972 under president Richard Nixon to prevent the further depletion and possible extinction of marine mammal stocks. It prohibits the taking ("the act of hunting, killing, capture, and/or harassment of any marine mammal; or,