CHRISTIN KHAN/NOAA FISHERIES PHOTO The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division has received more than $9 million from Inflation Reduction Act funds to support partnerships aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales. The agreements include collaborations with state agencies, academic institutions, non-profits and science-based groups.
“The collective actions of NOAA Fisheries and its partners are key to conserving North Atlantic right whales and preventing their extinction,” U.S. secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s investing in America agenda and the Inflation Reduction Act, this $9 million investment will help develop technologies and strategies to support the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale population.”
Although an estimated $6.9 million of the funding will support technologies that prevent fishing-gear entanglements, approximately $2.8 million will fund partner efforts to improve population monitoring and modeling efforts.
Duke University’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab will receive more than $1.3 million to build a near-real-time modeling system for the North Atlantic right whale, which could help predict right whale distribution along the Eastern Seaboard.
The marine industry continues to lobby against speed restrictions along much of the Eastern Seaboard meant to prevent right whale collisions with boats. NMMA and other stakeholders are advocating for a protection approach that includes the use of collision avoidance technology and other measures without speed restrictions that could negatively impact boaters and the industry.
