John,
The Gulf of Mexico is home to Rice’s whales, one of the world’s most endangered whale species. Fewer than 50 of these magnificent mammals remain — yet they have no federally protected critical habitat.
Help us demand immediate protection for these whales’ home.
Rice’s whales are hovering on the brink of extinction. Vessel collisions, oil spills, and chronic noise from seismic blasting and other oil industry activities all threaten their survival. In fact, in a letter sent to the Biden administration, 100 scientists warned NOAA Fisheries and its partners that “the United States is likely to cause the first anthropogenic extinction of a great whale species” if they’re not fully protected where they live.
NOAA Fisheries protected Rice’s whales under the Endangered Species Act in 2019 but still hasn’t set aside critical habitat, as the law requires. Species who also have critical habitat are twice as likely to recover as those without.
Rice’s whales can’t withstand the constant disruptions harming their small, struggling population. Designating critical habitat is essential to giving these whales the space they need to survive — and, one day, thrive again.
Tell NOAA Fisheries to protect critical habitat for these highly endangered creatures. |
