• Animals

NOAA Announces New Protections for North Atlantic Right Whales After Year-Long Delay

• lobster traps
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• oceans
• whales

By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor   In summer 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) delayed new protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, drawing criticism from conservation groups. Now, NOAA has announced the introduction of these long-awaited regulations on the lobster fishing industry, which the administration says could reduce whale deaths and serious injuries by […]

• Animals

Oh Baby, Baby! 17 Right Whale Calves Have Been Born This Year

• calf
• endangered species
• North Atlantic Right Whale

We will fully admit to being whale crazy!  And we have been watching the North Atlantic Right Whale population over the last few years of its decline to only about 360 remaining. Which is why this good news is so, well, great! Calving season just ended and it appears that there have been 18 births […]

• Animals

Renewing a Fundamental Commitment To Save America’s Whale on World Whale Day

• fishing
• IFAW
• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• right whales
• ropeless gear
• save the whales
• ship strikes
• whales

By CT Harry To unearth a solution to a problem, it is often said that one must start from the truth—and then work your way from there. This is as true of the resolution of problems within the realm of nature as it is of those within human society. Even though our legislative successes as […]

• Animals

First Right Whale Calf Death of the Year Reported in Florida

• gear entanglements
• lobster traps
• North Atlantic Right Whale
• ship strikes
• whales

Last weekend a sportfishing boat off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida struck and killed a one-month-old North Atlantic Right Whale calf, according to Florida news outlets.  The fishing boat reported the strike after it had to run ground to avoid sinking – the five people aboard were unharmed.

Why This Matters: Since 2017, 47 North Atlantic right whales had been found dead or injured, and the population of this species has shrunk to only 400 members.  These deaths are preventable — and environmental groups argue that the government should have stricter rules to protect this species now given the spike in fatalities.

• Ocean

North Atlantic Right Whales Having Best Calving Season in Years

• calf
• Defenders of Wildlife
• endangered species
• Endangered Species Act
• North Atlantic Right Whale

On Tuesday, as the new First Family entered the White House, another new family was spotted in Georgia, and it has marine advocates just as excited. NOAA fisheries announced the thirteenth spotting of the season of an endangered North Atlantic right whale calf off the coast of Georgia. The calf, seen accompanied by its mother, is her first.

Why This Matters: The North Atlantic right whale was listed as endangered in 1970 and deaths have been outpacing births since 2010. 200 right whales died in the last ten years, almost entirely because of entanglements in commercial fishing ropes and vessel strikes.

• 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.