February 2, 2016 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — NOAA Fisheries announced last week that it was expanding the critical habitat for endangered North Atlantic right whales to cover its northeast feeding areas in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The designated area is much larger than the one it replaces, and now includes all of the Gulf of Maine on the U.S. side of the national boundary with Canada.
The designation also was applied to an expanded area of the whales’ southeast calving grounds from North Carolina to Florida.
Under the Endangered Species Act, critical habitat within the range of the species consists of areas that contain physical or biological features essential to conservation of the species.
The final rule, which was first proposed in February 2015 and received 261 general comments over a 60-day comment period, does not include any new restrictions or management measures for commercial fishing operations. It does not create preserves or refuges.
However, federal agencies conducting, funding or permitting activities in these areas are required to work with NOAA Fisheries to avoid or reduce impacts on critical habitat.
The announcement has sparked long-standing disagreements between environmental and animal organizations and commercial fisheries.
Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle called the decision “a lifeline” for right whales in a blog post published Friday. “The HSUS and its allies have been fighting for an expansion of protected habitat since 2009, and it’s a victory for us over commercial fishermen and shipping interests that have irresponsibly downplayed their role in driving down the numbers of these mammoth creatures,” he wrote.
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