Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9436, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026.

“Today’s vote is a likely death sentence for some North Atlantic right whales. We are deeply disappointed that Congress is choosing to prioritize this untimely, ineffective bill before the existing moratorium on updated regulations even concludes." 

Dan Moss, Senior Government Relations Representative at Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, DC

The House of Representatives today voted to pass H.R. 9436, which will delay imperative protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales by seven years. Defenders of Wildlife condemned this bill, also known as the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026.  

Defenders of Wildlife's senior government relations representative, Dan Moss, reacted to the vote:

“Today’s vote is a likely death sentence for some North Atlantic right whales. We are deeply disappointed that Congress is choosing to prioritize this untimely, ineffective bill before the existing moratorium on updated regulations even concludes,” said Moss. “Right whale recovery and the economic wellbeing of New England lobsterman are not mutually exclusive, but this bill undermines the former while doing nothing to advance the latter. With only about 380 right whales and only 70 breeding females left on the planet, a single loss does great harm to the future prospects of this species. Seven years is too long to wait; this bill must be stopped to prevent a rapid decline in the North Atlantic right whale population.” 


###

For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.  

 

Media Contact

Ella Stern
Ella Stern
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243

News

2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife

Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox

Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.
Visit the newsroom