HYANNIS – NOAA Fisheries is proposing a list of recommended actions to promote right whale recovery.
Officials say that it has been a devastating summer for right whales.
At least 12 were found dead in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Those deaths account for nearly three percent of the total right whale population.
In U.S. waters, one right whale died from a ship strike and two other carcasses were spotted this year.
NOAA Fisheries has conducted the North Atlantic Right Whale Five-Year Review, which resulted in the list of recommended actions.
They include designating a Right Whale Recovery Coordinator, collaborating with U.S./Canadian transboundary working group and reviewing the effects of commercial fishing operations on right whales.
The Review also recommends that North Atlantic right whales continue to be listed as endangered and confirms that they are experiencing a low rate of reproduction and continued mortality.