Environmental groups demand emergency rules to protect rare whales from ship collisions

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the federal government to enact emergency rules to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with large ships. The groups filed their petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Sept. 28 in an effort to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The giant whale numbers less than 340 and has been in steep decline in recent years. NOAA says ship collisions are among the most dire threats to the survival of the whales, and it’s proposed a rule to prevent them by making more vessels slow down for whales. Conservationists say protection is needed before the migration season, which begins in fall.