HYANNIS – Congressman Seth Moulton is calling for stronger efforts to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale from extinction.
Moulton was joined by members of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
The right whale is one of the most critically endangered species in the world. There are only around 400 of them left, and less than 100 are breeding females.
Eight right whale deaths have been confirmed this year.
“Fundamentally, we’re here because we have a choice,” Moulton said.
“We can either be the generation that saves the right whale, or the generation that watches it go extinct, and I certainly know what side of that I want to be on.”
Moulton is the sponsor of the SAVE Right Whales Act in Congress. In the call, he also criticized the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s decision to back out of NOAA’s Take Reduction Team Agreement.
Moulton described the situation as something that both environmentalists and fishermen should work together on to resolve, citing research that indicates both parties would benefit from the survival of the right whale.
“90,000 jobs in the Massachusetts maritime economy depend on the ecosystem that the right whale supports. So, it’s critical that we get this right; not just for the whales but for our fishing and our tourism economy,” Moulton explained.
Moulton and the IFAW said they will continue to work on preventing dangers to the whales and promoting sustainable fishing via technological and scientific solutions.
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