ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 25, 2021
Proposed rules designed to protect a declining species of whale have arrived at the White House for review. The federal government is working on rules designed to reduce risk to North Atlantic right whales. The whales number only about 360. They face threats including entanglement in ropes that connect to lobster and crab traps in the ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said the new rules are expected to be released late this summer or early in the fall. The government has said the rules will focus on reducing the number of vertical ropes in the water. They’re also expected to modify restricted areas of ocean.