High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 was the first article of legislation to call specifically for an ecosystem approach to natural resource management and conservation. MMPA prohibits the taking of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal, along with any marine mammal part or product within the United States. The U.S. Congress defines "take" as “the act of hunting, killing, capture, and/or harassment of any marine mammal; or, the attempt at such. The MMPA defines harassment as any act of pursuit, torment or annoyance which has the potential to either: a. injure a marine mammal in the wild, or b. disturb a marine mammal by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, which includes, but is not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering. The MMPA provides for enforcement of its prohibitions, and for the issuance of regulations to implement its legislative goals.