COMMENTARY

Statement | Uplisting of North Atlantic Right Whales

Susan Sargent

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PEER Statement on Uplisting of North Atlantic Right Whales

“Today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on species at risk and the measures needed to safeguard them, uplisted the North Atlantic right whale from “endangered” to “critically endangered.” This new designation means that the right whale is “facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild​.” It is the only large whale species in the world to be so designated. At a population of mature individuals numbering roughly 250, right whales are being killed at an alarming rate by ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear. NOAA, the federal agency charged with the species’ recovery, is currently being sued by several NGOs due to their failure to take decisive action to save the right whales. IUCN’s designation of the right whale as critically endangered demonstrates that NOAA’s inaction and delays are pushing right whales even closer to extinction. Extinction is a choice, and NOAA must change course and do whatever it can to save this imperiled species.”

See the IUCN Redlist Designation

 


PRESS RELEASE

NOAA Balks at Steps to Save Remaining Right Whales / July 9, 2020

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