We’re Giving Our Endangered Whales Stronger Protection

As the Pacific humpback whale is endangered and is highly susceptible to deadly entanglements off the West Coast of the United States, an agreement has been reached to reduce such hazardous traps for the massive marine animal.

“I’m relieved this agreement will give endangered humpbacks much-needed protections from entanglements, but the agency shouldn’t have been ignoring the whales to begin with,” explains Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We still can’t trace most entanglements to their source, but this commitment from the agency will put fewer lethal obstacles in humpbacks’ way.”

Since the National Marine Fisheries Service was found guilty of failing to protect the endangered marine species off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington, the federal organization struck a legal agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, agreeing to establish a team to fix the entanglement problem. As part of the solution, the Center is proposing that fisheries using of pot gear to convert to new ropeless or “pop-up” gear within the next five years. The goal is to stop whale entanglement by the end of October 2025.