Today, the Endangered Species Committee unilaterally eliminated key Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for marine life in the Gulf of Mexico – including the critically endangered Rice’s whale – to … Read more
Sable Offshore Corporation has officially restarted its onshore pipeline which was part of a system that failed from corrosion in 2015, spewing more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil off the Santa Barbara coast. Much of the oil ran … Read more
Today, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fishers may no longer fish with conventional traps south of Pigeon Point (Zones 4 … Read more
Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published an advance notice that it will consider deregulation of existing rules that protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from deadly ship strikes. The comment period on the proposed changes ends June 2. With only about 380 North Atlantic … Read more
Update: On March 24, 2026, the Senate introduced the companion bill. Yesterday, lawmakers in the House of Representatives reintroduced a bill to keep plastic pellets out of U.S. waterways. The Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, sponsored by Reps. Mike Levin (D-CA) … Read more
A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale was found dead off the Virginia coast this week, less than two weeks after another deceased whale was discovered in the Atlantic. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported the whale was discovered on a remote barrier … Read more
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has approved, for the first time, the use of innovative pop-up gear as an “alternative gear” to catch Dungeness crab off California beginning in the spring of 2026. Commercial crabbers can now use pop-up gear to continue fishing during fishery closures each season between April 1 and July 15. This will protect wildlife … Read more
