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Intervention Sought to Protect Endangered Right Whales from Deadly Vessel Strikes
Conservation groups have filed a motion to intervene as defendants on behalf of NOAA Fisheries in a case challenging the agency’s 2008 vessel speed rule
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First Circuit Decision Reinstates Rule Protecting Right Whales
Conservation groups applaud a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision reinstating a 2024 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rule that protects critically endangered North Atlantic
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Biden Admin Inaction Keeps Critically Endangered Whales on Road to Extinction
Conservation groups expressed anger and frustration at today’s announcement by NOAA Fisheries to withdraw a proposed rule expanding protections for North Atlantic right whales from
More North Atlantic Right Whale Press Releases
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New York Offshore Wind Alliance: Public Service Commission Gives NY An Earth Week to Celebrate
New York Offshore Wind Alliance: Public Service Commission Gives NY An Earth Week to Celebrate Authorizes NYSERDA To Solicit Nation’s Largest Offshore Wind Bids Following
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Court: Feds Failing to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Lobster Gear Entanglements
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the National Marine Fisheries Service’s authorization and management of the American lobster fishery violates the federal Endangered Species Act. The court held that the agency failed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and that its biological opinion on the fishery violated “straightforward” requirements of the Act, putting the whales at greater risk of entanglement.
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NOAA: Independent Review Shows Tool Used to Prevent Right Whale Entanglements Is “Appropriate, Valuable”
Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that an independent peer review of its “decision support tool”—developed to evaluate the effectiveness of various management measures in reducing entanglement-related mortalities of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales in the American lobster fishery—confirmed that it is an “appropriate and valuable tool to assess various mitigation measures in a common risk-reduction metric, and has proven useful in determining possible management actions with stakeholders.”
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Days-Old North Atlantic Right Whale Calf Struck by Ship
The fourth North Atlantic right whale calf born this season has already been severely wounded. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced Thursday morning that the calf had two “parallel and s-shaped” injuries along its body, consistent with wounds caused by boat propellers.
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Bad News for Wildlife: Border Wall Funding Approved in 2020 Spending Bill
After weeks of negotiations, Congress unveiled the $1.4 trillion package that will raise discretionary federal spending by $49 billion for the rest of fiscal 2020.
jcovey@defenders.org
