Monmouth Times

Funding Comes After Pallone Called for Action to Address Vessel Strikes and Entanglements

Washington, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) on June 8 applauded new investments from the Biden Administration to support the conservation and protection of whales. The U.S. Department of Commerce will devote $82 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support the conservation of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The funding will allow NOAA to use near real-time monitoring to track whales and reduce the risk of vessel strikes and entanglements – the leading causes of preventable whale deaths.

The funding will also allow NOAA to continue the development and evaluation of new technologies, such as satellite observations to transform North Atlantic right whale monitoring and to improve understanding of the whales’ distribution and habitat use. It will also facilitate the development of innovative fishing gear and new technologies that will help address risks to endangered species while minimizing impacts to various marine industries. In March, Pallone urged leaders on the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to provide funding to NOAA for the establishment of a near real-time monitoring and mitigation program for threatened or endangered marine mammals as well as robust funding for other existing marine mammal conservation programs.

 “On June 8th’s announcement is great news for marine mammals. With this funding, NOAA will be able to deploy new technology to track whales with greater accuracy so that we can reduce vessel strikes and entanglements, which we know are the leading causes of whale deaths and injuries,” said Pallone. “I’m going to continue to advocate for real solutions that keep marine mammals safe from vessel strikes, entanglements, and marine pollution.”

Climate change is the biggest threat to marine mammals. A rise in ocean temperature is leading marine mammals’ prey farther north and closer to shore, forcing whales to move to areas of significant shipping activity. Since 2008, large vessels have been required to travel at speeds to protect whales, but compliance remains problematic. According to NOAA, vessel strikes and entanglements have caused more than 77 percent of deaths and injuries of the endangered North Atlantic right whale since 2017. In 2023 alone, 23 whales have been found dead between Maine and Florida, including 12 off the New York and New Jersey coast.

In April, Pallone sent a letter with Democratic Members of New Jersey’s Congressional Delegation to the Biden Administration to demand real solutions in response to the death of marine mammals off New Jersey’s coast. The Members asked the Administration to do more to address vessel strikes and emphasized that climate change poses a significant threat to marine mammals. They requested information from NOAA on what the agency is doing to enforce vessel speed, limit entanglements, and reduce microplastic pollution that marine mammals swallow when feeding.

Original source can be found here