PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the federal government to enact emergency rules to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with large ships.
The groups filed their petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Sept. 28 in an effort to protect the North Atlantic right whale.
The groups cited a proposed rule from the agency designed to prevent such ship strikes by making more vessels slow down for whales.
NOAA has yet to release a final updated speed rule despite proposing new rules more than a year ago, the environmental groups said.
The right whales were once abundant off the East Coast, but they were decimated during the commercial whaling era.
Persons:
“, can’t, Kristen Monsell, Katie Wagner, Wagner
Organizations:
National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Center for Biological Diversity
Locations:
PORTLAND, Maine, Atlantic, New England, Canada, Florida, Georgia, East Coast