Letter: Right whale requires ever more careful regulation

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 28, 2026

Your May 15 piece on North Atlantic right whales offered promising news about this year’s calving season. But as someone who has spent decades working to protect marine mammals, I’d caution against relying on this season’s numbers as a reason to ease up on regulations. More calves means more whales at risk. Recovery requires sustained 50-plus births per year. And we won’t get there without careful regulation. ~ Cindy Lowry, International Marine Mammal Project, a project of Earth Island Institute, Portland