Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wrote to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to express concern about the ongoing Unusual Mortality Events (UMEs) for humpback whales and North Atlantic right whales in the U.S. Atlantic, and to request information about additional resources needed to address these ongoing whale deaths. The letter comes as more than 20 whales have died between North Carolina and Nova Scotia, Canada, since December 2022
While these UMEs have been underway for years, “in recent months, there has been a concerning number of whale deaths along the Atlantic coast,” the Senators wrote. “There are fewer than 340 NARWs remaining, including fewer than 70 breeding females, and without action, the NARW will likely go extinct.”
The senators asked NOAA to describe how it will use funds to address whale injuries and deaths from gear entanglement and vessel collisions – the potential cause of many of these incidents, according to preliminary necropsy findings. The letter also asks the agency to detail its reporting procedures and elaborate on, “what additional resources NOAA may need to strengthen its efforts to protect and conserve marine mammals and prevent their deaths.”
“We believe accessibility, transparency, and timeliness is of the utmost importance for NOAA’s whale injury and death reporting,” the Senators wrote while calling for strengthened data-sharing practices with the public, non-profit organizations, and government partners. “We look forward to working with you to ensure the health and well-being of our oceans’ marine mammals.”
In February 2022, Senators Booker, Blumenthal, and Whitehouse introduced the Right Whale Coexistence Act, legislation that would establish a new grant program to fund collaborative research between government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and maritime industries to reduce human impacts on North Atlantic right whales. A modified version of the Right Whale Coexistence Act passed in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law No. 117-328).
The full text of the letter can be found here.