Lawmakers Move to Delay Critical Protections for North Atlantic Right Whales
Press Release Date: July 15, 2026
Location: WASHINGTON
Contact:
Erin Vande Ven | email: EVandeVen@oceana.org | tel: 303.829.3877
Today, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee advanced a bill that would delay critical protections for endangered North Atlantic right whales for another seven years.
The bill, H.R. 9436, would extend a delay on new fishing regulations aimed at reducing whale entanglements in lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. An initial policy rider, attached to a spending bill passed in 2022, allowed the government to delay any action until early 2029. With only around 380 individuals remaining in the population, North Atlantic right whale entanglements continue to be one of the biggest threats to their survival.
“For far too long, North Atlantic right whales have been getting entangled in fishing gear while we’ve debated and studied what to do about it,” said Oceana Senior Campaign Director Gib Brogan. “They needed more protections in 2022 when Congress ignored a mountain of evidence and decided that insufficient efforts were enough. Now, once again, lawmakers are trying to pass the buck.”
Protections were delayed by the congressional action in 2022 but are currently required to be put in effect by the beginning of 2029. This bill, if passed, would extend the timeline of implementation once again until 2035. Since the delay, at least 31 North Atlantic right whales have been killed or injured due to entanglements.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act brings together fishers, government representatives, scientists, and conservationists to recommend measures that can protect whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals from impacts from commercial fisheries. The team develops recommendations based on the best available science and group consensus, with several opportunities for public input. The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (ALWTRT) is scheduled to start its consideration of potential new protections for these whales from entanglement in fishing gear to put in place when the Congressionally mandated delay ends at the beginning of 2029.
“There are solutions that can keep lobstermen on the water and protect whales,” said Brogan. “We know more than enough to take action to better protect North Atlantic right whales. If this bill passes, all we will do is study this problem until these whales are extinct. Instead, Congress needs to support timely management that will guide this species into recovery instead of turning a blind eye to the advice of the experts who have spent their careers dedicated to this species.”
Background
North Atlantic right whales were a frequent target of whalers as they were often found near shore, swim slowly, and tend to float when killed. They were aggressively hunted, and their population dropped from peak estimates of up to 21,000 to perhaps fewer than 100 by the 1920s. After whaling of North Atlantic right whales was banned in 1935, their population increased to as many as 483 individuals in 2010. Unfortunately, that progress has reversed.
Entanglements in fishing gear used to catch lobster, crab, and other species is a leading cause of North Atlantic right whale deaths. Around one-quarter of the population is entangled in fishing gear from the United States and Canada each year, and about 85% have been entangled at least once. Ropes have been seen wrapped around their mouths, fins, tails, and bodies, which slow them down; make it difficult to swim, reproduce, and feed; and can cause death. The lines cut into the whales’ flesh, leading to life-threatening infections, and are so strong that they have severed fins and tails, and cut into bone.
Collisions with boats is another leading cause of North Atlantic right whale injury and death. They are slow, swimming at speeds less than 4 miles (or an average of 6 kilometers) per hour, usually near the water’s surface. They are also dark in color and lack a dorsal fin, making them very difficult to spot. Studies have found that the speed of a vessel is a major factor in vessel-related collisions with North Atlantic right whales. At high speeds, vessels cannot maneuver to avoid them, and these whales swim too slowly to be able to move out of the way. This puts them at great risk of being struck, which can cause deadly injuries from blunt-force trauma or cuts from propellers.
A national poll of American voters conducted in 2024 found that an overwhelming majority support stronger protections for North Atlantic right whales. The poll found that 86% of American voters agree that North Atlantic right whales should be protected from human-caused threats to help prevent their extinction, and 83% agree that ocean activities that endanger North Atlantic right whales, like shipping, boating, and vertical-line fishing, should be adapted to protect them. Eight in ten respondents are in favor of the U.S. government making policy changes to save North Atlantic right whales from going extinct. Oceana’s poll, conducted by the nonpartisan polling company Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®, surveyed 1,053 registered U.S. voters from June 28 to 30, 2024.
To learn more about Oceana’s binational campaign to save North Atlantic right whales, click here.
