U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson recently unveiled legislation aimed at protecting the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. The SAVE Right Whales Act of 2018 (S. 3038) establishes a new grant program to fund collaborative projects between states, nongovernmental organizations and members of the fishing and shipping industries to reduce the impacts of human activities on North Atlantic right whales.
There are fewer than 450 North Atlantic right whales remaining in the world, with a population that has struggled to recover from over exploitation by the whaling industry and there has been no new calves observed this year – the first time since surveys began nearly 30 years ago. Ship collisions and entanglements with fishing gear are the two leading causes of injury and death to the whales today.
