New Right Whales Protection Rule Can Wait Until May 2021

摘要

The National Marine Fisheries Service has until 2021 to issue a new rule protecting North American right whales after its previous finding that lobster fishing wouldn't endanger the whales violated federal law, a Washington court ruled. NMFS said in its 2014 biological opinion authorizing lobster fishing that there would be incidental takes of the endangered whales. But the agency failed to include a related incidental take statement as required by the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in April.