Oceana Reacts to Trump Administration’s Gutting of Endangered Species Act - Oceana USA

Oceana Reacts to Trump Administration’s Gutting of Endangered Species Act

Proposed massive changes to the law would push North Atlantic right whales and other critically endangered species further toward extinction

Press Release Date: September 17, 2026

Location: WASHINGTON

Contact:

Jamie Karnik | email: jkarnik@oceana.org | tel: 907-635-8722

According to press reports, the Trump administration is planning a massive change to the legal interpretation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), proposing that any incidental harming or killing of a threatened or endangered species would no longer be considered illegal under that law.

Most of the threats to these species are not from the direct hunting or killing of an animal, like a humpback whale or a sea turtle, but as a result of federally permitted activities that put the species at risk while carrying out another action, such as commercial fishing or oil and gas drilling.

Under the proposed new interpretation of the ESA, only actions that can be shown as directly intending to harm an endangered animal would be considered illegal. This new interpretation will likely remove core protections for most threatened and endangered marine species protected by the ESA.

Oceana Vice President Beth Lowell issued the following statement in response:

“The proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act will remove the core safeguards that have prevented the extinction of 99% of species protected under the act. Federally permitted activities that incidentally injure and kill endangered species currently need to take into account their unintended impacts on wildlife, including nesting beaches for sea turtles or North Atlantic mother and calf pairs as they swim to their feeding grounds. These changes upend the Endangered Species Act’s balance of economic activity and needed protections, pushing species to the brink of extinction.”

BACKGROUND

Since its passage in 1973, the ESA has been a cornerstone of effective wildlife protection in the United States and has prevented 99% of the species listed under its care from going extinct.

North Atlantic right whales are one of the primary species further threatened by these proposed changes. With only around 380 whales, these animals need protection from their biggest threats — entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ship traffic.

In the Pacific Ocean, endangered humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles face risks of entanglement in fishing gear as they swim along California’s coast each summer and fall.

In addition, ocean species from salmon to sharks have historically relied on the ESA to reduce human pressures like ocean noise, oil spills, competition for food, and other stressors to give those species the best chance to recover and prevent their extinction.