Full Case Name:  GEORGIA AQUARIUM, INC., Plaintiff, v. PENNY PRITZKER, in her Official Capacity as Secretary of Commerce, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, and NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, Defendants, ANIMAL WELFARE INSTITUTE, WHALE AND DOLPHIN CONSERVATION, WHALE AND DOLPHIN CONSERVATION, INC. (NORTH AMERICA), CETACEAN SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, AND EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE, Intervenor-Defendants.

Summary: In this case, the District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied the Georgia Aquarium’s application for a permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to import 18 beluga whales from Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk for public display. The Aquarium challenged the defendant National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) decision to deny a permit to import the beluga whales as arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The Court found that defendant National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) was correct in following the statutory mandate of the MMPA after it found that the Sakhalin-Amur stock of the whales is likely declining and is experiencing adverse impacts in addition to Russian live-capture operations. Further, some of the beluga whales destined for the import were potentially young enough to still be nursing and dependent upon their mothers.