Environmental Group Sues Feds Over Endangered Right Whales
A New England group called the Conservation Law Foundation sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees fisheries.
Sea to Shore Alliance / GEORGIA WILDLIFE RESOURCES DIVISION
An environmental group is suing the federal government over North Atlantic right whales.
The endangered whales have their calves off the coast of southern states, including Georgia, but they spend the rest of the year up north, off the coast of New England and Canada. That’s where 17 whales died last year. Another died earlier this year near Virginia. There are only about 450 of the whales left in the world.
A New England group called the Conservation Law Foundation sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees fisheries. The group claims the agency hasn’t appropriately regulated the lobster industry, which is big up around Maine, where the whales live. The whales can be killed by fishing gear, including lines connected to lobster traps.
“Sometimes right whales are killed by immediate drowning based on the weight of the gear. Other times they drag it around for days, weeks, months,” said Emily Green, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation.
A spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries said she can’t comment on litigation.
There have only been two adult whales spotted off the Georgia coast this winter, and no calves.
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