Building the Momentum for Ropeless Fishing
Getting entangled in fishing gear is a major threat to right whales. Solutions are available.
Getting entangled in fishing gear is a major threat to right whales. Solutions are available.
Ship and boat strikes and entanglements in fishing gear are harming right whale families.
Seven guidelines for how North Atlantic right whales and offshore wind can share the sea as safely as possible.
Climate deniers and fossil fuel interests are quietly fueling an anti-offshore wind misinformation campaign
Right whale mothers and calves are especially vulnerable to being hit by boats and ships. For the species to survive, we need to better protect them.
“Just seven months ago, another right whale was killed off Virginia Beach, yet nothing has changed on the water,” said Erica Fuller, senior attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “NOAA Fisheries has proposed a strong rule and their Office of Law Enforcement has made clear they’ll do everything they can to enforce it. Unfortunately, special interest groups in Congress have created a campaign of misinformation that now threatens to derail and delay protections. These are unnecessary deaths — we urge the agency to take action now.”
To save right whales from extinction, we must protect them from boats and fishing gear.
“This decision rejects the lobster industry’s attempts to distract from the overwhelming scientific evidence that entanglements have killed far too many right whales for far too long,” said Erica Fuller, a senior attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “It took the Fisheries Service five years to finalize a rule that only reduced lethal entanglement risk by 50% when the science shows 90% is needed. This species doesn’t have another five years to wait for the agency to comply with the law.”
“Responsibly sited offshore wind has the power to transform our energy grid and combat the climate crisis,” said CLF President Brad Campbell. “Today’s news is a significant and welcome milestone for Vineyard Wind and the future of all offshore wind in the U.S. As this project and others move forward, they must keep pace with the best available science and technology to ensure that their impacts on critically endangered North Atlantic right whales as well as other vulnerable species and their habitats are appropriately avoided and minimized.”
From the second they are born to their last breath, North Atlantic right whales help our climate by making our ocean more resilient. We need to push for their protection so that they can do their part in helping to create a greater future for all.