MAINE PUBLIC • September 19, 2023
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it has received a "historic" amount of funding to conserve and recover critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Roughly $82 million in federal funds will help scientists better track North Atlantic right whales, whose distribution patterns have changed within the last decade due to warming waters. NOAA will use nearly $36 million to better monitor the right whale population, which has fewer than 340 individuals. About $20 million will go to prevent vessel strikes, the second leading cause of death and injury to right whales after entanglement with fishing gear. Nearly $18 million will be used to advance and expand on-demand fishing technology, with a portion of the funds devoted to training and reimbursing fishermen to test out the new techniques. About $5 million will fund NOAA enforcement efforts.