“There are so few right whales left that every death brings this species closer to extinction,” said CLF Senior Attorney Erica Fuller. “The time for talk is over. Both the U.S. and Canadian governments need to protect this majestic species before it disappears from our oceans forever.”
North Atlantic right whales are one of the most endangered whales on the planet. This iconic species 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 us in the fight.
The North Atlantic right whale is on the brink of extinction, but there’s still hope for it to survive. We’re committed to an all-hands-on-deck approach to saving New England’s iconic whale – from litigation to legislation to community engagement. As part of those efforts, we were thrilled to co-host the 2019 Right Whale Festival at the New England Aquarium with the Aquarium and Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs.
“Reducing and weakening the lines in the water is a start, but we need to go much further, much faster,” said Erica Fuller, a senior staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, which has sued NOAA in an effort to force the agency to take more aggressive action to protect right whales.
“As we speak, there are two whales entangled in fishing gear 100 miles from this meeting,” said Erica Fuller, Senior Staff Attorney at CLF. “New England’s iconic whale can be saved if we’d simply stop allowing them to be killed year after year. Reducing and weakening the lines in the water is a start, but we need to go much further, much faster. Appropriate closures and ropeless fishing need to be part of the solution.”
“We need to get lines out of the water if we are going to protect the North Atlantic right whale,” says Emily Green, a lawyer at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), one of several groups suing the federal government for better protections of the whales, protections that they say are mandated by the Endangered Species Act.
Check out the winning artwork from CLF and Bow Seat’s Healthy Whale, Healthy Ocean Challenge. This art contest invited K-12 students from the New England and Gulf of Maine regions in the U.S. and Canada to use their creative voices to highlight the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and the need for conservation of marine ecosystems and resources.
“North Atlantic right whales are in danger of becoming extinct within our lifetime,” said Dr. Priscilla Brooks, Director of Ocean Conservation at CLF. “The contest has been so important in raising awareness of this critical issue and creating a new generation of young advocates who will fight for the protection of right whales and our oceans.”
Seven new North Atlantic right whale calves are migrating with their mothers and other whales back up the east cost into New England and Canadian waters. But this journey is full of threats: ship strikes, noise pollution, and entanglement in fishing gear all threaten their survival. We must work to make our oceans a safe and welcoming place for right whales.
The SAVE Right Whales Act is an important piece of the solution for protecting this iconic species from extinction.
