ASSOCIATED PRESS • October 2, 2023
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 in an effort to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The whale numbers less than 340 and has been in steep decline in recent years. The right whales were once abundant off the East Coast, but they were decimated during the commercial whaling era. They have been protected under the Endangered Species Act for several decades.