The North Atlantic Right Whale – so named by whalers of days bygone – is the most critically endangered species on the planet with less than 350 left alive. Man hunted this spectacular animal into the brink of extinction and even though it is protected by the Endangered Species Act, is still in serious trouble. One problem that has been a serious problem for years is they are often surprised and badly injured or killed by large commercial shipping going too fast in the waters they prefer. Marine biologists and NOAA have been trying to get a speed limit of 10 knots imposed on these waters. Since 1989 there have been at least 19 known deaths that are believed to have been caused by large ships. I know 19 doesn’t sound like a large number but when there are so few of these animals left and then taking into consideration the time required for them to reach maturity and able to breed.
An attempt to protect them by making all large ships slow down a little in their areas has languished for over a year partially because the office of the Vice President questions the conclusions of the governments own scientists. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif released documents yesterday that questioned why White House officials have raised baseless objections over the data gathered by government scientists who have been studying this problem for years. “I question why White House economic advisers are apparently conducting their own research on right whales and why the vice president’s staff is challenging the conclusions of the government’s scientific experts,” Waxman wrote. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the White House interference in a wide range of areas from regulating toxic chemicals to climate change and protecting endangered species.