ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 18, 2024
Two endangered North Atlantic whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off Massachusetts, and one is likely to die from its injuries, NOAA said this week. Environmentalists have pushed for new restrictions on commercial fishing and shipping to try to protect the whales. The whales were once abundant off the East Coast, but they were decimated during the era of commercial whaling. They have been federally protected for decades. Some scientists have said climate change is a major threat to the whales because it has changed the availability of their food. That has caused them to stray from protected areas of ocean.