October 3, 2022 — Keys to the North Atlantic right whale’s survival as a species extend all along the East Coast of the United States, from vessel speed concerns in vital calving grounds off Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, to New England and Canadian fixed-gear lobster- and crab-trapping waters.
Federal law dictates human-caused right whale deaths to decline to fewer than one a year. Currently, that statistic sits at more than 30, a real problem when there are fewer than 70 calving female North Atlantic right whales believed to be alive. In all, scientists believe there are fewer than 340 total North Atlantic right whales remaining.
What’s on tap is the second phase of an anticipated three-phase process in which NOAA Fisheries — also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) — is developing a comprehensive effort to save the species from extinction. A federal court determined regulations finalized in September 2021 as Phase One of the plan didn’t satisfy the requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
“The judge ruled the 2021 final rule should’ve reduced mortality and serious injury, caused by U.S. commercial fisheries, to below (the potential biological removal level, or PBR) within six months of implementation of those 2021 regs,” said Colleen Coogan, branch chief for the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Team in the Protected Resources Division of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office.