The Biden Administration took a significant step to protect humpback whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Commerce departments have finalized a rule to protect ocean habitats used by humpback whales. Humpback whales were once hunted to the brink of extinction and now two of the five “breeding […]
Tag: right whales
Whales in Danger in United States Waters
A new opinion piece in The Hill is calling for extra protection for whales in the United States. Kyla Bennett, the science policy director at Public Employees for Environmental responsibility (PEER) called on the current administration to act to save the North Atlantic right whale, Bryde’s whale, and North Pacific right whale. Each of these […]
New Rule on Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Falls Short
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS) released a new rule at the end of December to reduce the risk to critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Unfortunately, the rule is inadequate to protect these animals. NFMS’ rule focuses on helping whales that get tangled in fishing gear used for crab and lobster fishing. However, their […]
Even slow-moving boats likely to kill endangered right whales in a collision, study finds
For North Atlantic right whales, collisions with large cargo vessels are one of the deadliest threats to an endangered population. But new research from Canada has found even under the government’s current maritime speed restrictions, strikes are likely to be fatal. In a new paper published in Marine Mammal Science, biologists found that collisions between […]
North Atlantic right whales now officially ‘one step from extinction’
With their population still struggling to recover from over three centuries of whaling, the North Atlantic right whale is now just “one step from extinction”, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN last week moved the whale’s status on their Red List from “endangered” to “critically endangered” – the […]
Watchdog Accuses Trump’s NOAA of ‘Choosing Extinction’ for Right Whales by Hiding Scientific Evidence
As the North Atlantic right whale was placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of critically endangered species Thursday, environmental protection groups accusing the U.S. government of bowing to fishing and fossil fuel industry pressure to downplay the threat and failing to enact common-sense restrictions to protect the animals. Only 400 right […]
Norway’s barbaric slaughter of hundreds of majestic minke whales casts a shadow over its proud, wealthy and enlightened outlook
On the quayside in the picturesque Norwegian village of Andenes, the crew have been preparing their ship for the start of the new season in three days’ time. The engines have been serviced, the wooden meat-cooling pallets have been lifted on to the deck and the deadly exploding harpoons have been loaded. This weekend the […]
Six endangered North Atlantic right whales died last month alone
There’s more grim news for the North Atlantic right whale, one of the most endangered whale species in the world. In June this year, six individuals were spotted dead in Canadian waters. Among them was a breeding female named Punctuation who had given birth to eight known calves and had been a grandmother to at […]