ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 27, 2022
The North Atlantic right whale will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the species requires a series of protective steps to stave off extinction, federal authorities said Tuesday. The whales number only about 340 and they have declined in population in recent years. NOAA released a review of the whale’s status Tuesday that said the whale “is continuing to decline and has not met many of the recovery criteria outlined” in its recovery plan. Protection of the whale is a source of dispute between conservationists and commercial fishermen because one of the top threats to the animals is entanglement in fishing gear.