• Ocean

NOAA Extends Protections for Endangered Right Whales 

• endangered species
• fishing
• NOAA
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• ship strikes
• whales

AA announced this week that it is extending its ship speed protections for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale until Nov. 15 in waters off of southern New England and east of Long Island, New York.  

Why this Matters: Earlier this year, even before the updated population count, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List downlisted North Atlantic Right Whales to “critically endangered,” just one step away from extinction.

• Sustainability

New WWF Report Shines a Light on Getting Rid of Ghost Gear

• #30x30
• Conservation Law Foundation
• fishing gear
• ghost gear
• IFAW
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• plastic pollution
• vaquita
• whale
• World Wildlife Fund

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued a new report yesterday illuminating the devastating impact of derelict or abandoned fishing gear in the ocean (aka “ghost gear”), and the numbers are terrifying — between 500,000 and 1,000,000 tons of ghost gear wind up in the ocean EACH YEAR!

Why This Matters:  While fishing gear that is in use is a threat to marine life like whales, abandoned fishing gear is just a tragedy waiting to happen and completely needless — eliminating it is totally within our control.

• People

Interview of the Week: David Abel

• 5th Amendment rights
• lobster
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• oceans
• right whale

David Abel is a filmmaker and an award-winning reporter who covers fisheries and environmental issues for The Boston Globe. His most recent film “Entangled,” chronicles the efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, the impacts of those efforts on the lobster industry, and how NOAA has struggled to balance the vying interests. The film, which […]

• Animals

NOAA Delays Urgently Needed Right Whale Protections Again

• anniversary
• crab
• endangered species
• Endangered Species Act
• lobster
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• vertical lines
• whale

The Boston Globe’s David Abel reported on Twitter last week that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is, according to court filings, delaying new protections for critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whales even after a court found the agency in violation of the Endangered Species Act for its failure to take action to protect them.

• Animals

Can New Technology Save the North Atlantic Right Whale? Yes, But Only If It’s Used

• conservation
• Conservation Law Foundation
• IFAW
• lobster
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• science
• whales

Earlier this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report on large whale entanglements, looking at data from 2007 to 2018, and found that entanglements are up significantly, with 80% of those involving fishing gear. 

Why This Matters:  Emerging technologies that eliminate the ropes in the water column have been developed — the “catch” is getting fishers to use it.

• Ocean

Failure is Not An Option – Time to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale

• #endangeredspecies
• conservation
• lobsters
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• science
• whales

By CT Harry, Marine Campaigner, IFAW For millennia, every autumn and spring, one of the largest animals on Earth has followed ancient migratory pathways up and down the coast of North America. For nearly three decades, people and organizations around our ocean planet have marked World Oceans Day, raising awareness of the importance of the […]