Entangled in fishing rope, she swam for hundreds of miles to her death.

 

SHIP STRIKES & ENTANGLEMENTS ARE KILLING WHALES! 

DIRTY ENERGY KOCH HAS CIRCULATED PROPAGANDA THAT 
THE WIND TURBINES THAT ARE CAREFULLY MANDATED TO 
PROTECT WHALES ARE THE CAUSE - NOT SO! 

In January 2021, a newborn right whale calf was first seen swimming with her mother near Georgia. The next year she was spotted off Massachusetts swimming independently, but by that summer she was seen entangled in over 200 feet of fishing rope near the Canadian shore. Over the next year and a half, she dragged this gear with her between U.S. and Canadian waters. She swam for hundreds of miles to her death, entangled in the rope that cut into her body and embedded into her tail as she grew larger. She finally washed up dead on Martha’s Vineyard in January 2024, having spent half her life suffering from the entanglement that finally killed her. With only about 360 North Atlantic right whales left, we cannot look away from this horror. Donate today to join the fight to protect these endangered whales and other imperiled wildlife. DONATE NOAA Fisheries recently confirmed that this fishing gear came from the Maine state lobster fishery. We’ve known for decades that fishing gear kills and injures whales, but industry lobbyists and their allies in Congress have constantly undermined sensible protections that could save these precious creatures. The time for their inaction and denial is over. We must rally together to fight back and demand life-saving protections. Make a gift today and help defend whales! Thank you for all you do, Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife 1130 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 defenders.org  Photo credit: North Atlantic right whale tangled © NOAA News Archive 123110 (CC BY 2.0 DEED)/Flickr

 

Feds: Vanishing right whale must remain on endangered list, despite lobstermen's protests

PATRICK WHITTLE

Associated Press

Published Dec. 27, 2022 

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The fading North Atlantic right whale will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the species requires a series of protective steps to stave off extinction, federal authorities said Tuesday.

The whales number only about 340 and they have declined in population in recent years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a review of the whale's status on Tuesday that said the whale "is continuing to decline and has not met many of the recovery criteria outlined" in its recovery plan.

Protection of the whale is a source of dispute between conservationists and commercial fishermen because one of the top threats to the animals is entanglement in fishing gear. NOAA performed a required five-year review of the whale's status that said the animal is continuing to decline because of the threats of fishing gear, collisions with ships and other stressors.

"There is also uncertainty regarding the effect of long-term sublethal entanglements, emerging environmental stressors including climate change, and the compounding effects of multiple continuous stressors that may be limiting North Atlantic right whale calving and recovery," the agency said in its report.

NOAA also released recommended actions to try to stabilize the whale's population. The actions include partnering with the Canadian government to reduce collisions and entanglements. The whales migrate every year from the waters off Georgia and Florida to New England and Canada.

Maine lawmakers:End tax breaks for companies that pull lobster

The agency also recommended more research and implementation of fishing gear modifications that reduce risk to the whales. It also said there should be more emphasis placed on the removal of derelict fishing gear from the whales' range.

NOAA's announcement came a week after Maine's congressional delegation announced plans to use the federal spending bill to attempt to delay new protections for the whales for six years. That would put a halt to new restrictions on lobster fishing, an industry based largely in Maine. The delegation and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement that the planned restrictions would "not meaningfully protect the right whale, but will threaten the livelihoods of thousands of Maine families and small businesses."

'It's become an event':Season's first right whale calf is born, bringing hope to species

Environmental groups that have called for more whale protections said the delay would hasten the extinction of the species.

"The science is clear: humans are killing right whales faster than they can reproduce, and entanglement in lobster gear is a leading cause," said Erica Fuller, an attorney with Conservation Law Foundation.

LINK

The Whale at Scale: A Short Documentary

 

North Atlantic right whales could go extinct in our lifetime, but it’s still within our power to save them. Meet the people using the power of the law, science, and photography to save the right whale — and join the fight.