Endangered whales that are considered especially at risk because of the Biden administration’s wind energy plan could have a new lifeline because of a strategy released by the administration on Thursday.
The immediate effects of the new plan, released jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, include efforts to avoid leasing in areas that could affect right whale habitats and consultations with wind power developers to avoid crossing noise thresholds that damage whale habitats.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring offshore wind energy development is done in a responsible manner,” BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said in a statement. “That’s why we have increased our efforts to develop a strategy – based on the best available science – that will allow us to protect the North Atlantic right whale while meeting our offshore wind goals that are necessary to curb climate change and protect the environment.”
There are only about 360 right whales left in the world, and fewer than 70 of those are females that can reproduce, according to the BOEM, which puts the survival of the species in serious danger.
The right whale population was severely depleted by the whaling industry in the 19th century, and they still face a number of hazards now, including climate change-related issues and man-made problems such as vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing equipment.
“Right whales are endangered and climate change is impacting every aspect of their survival – from changing ocean habitat, prey availability and affecting migratory patterns – making the transition to cleaner, renewable energy critically important,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said. “Working together on this strategy leverages the best available scientific information to inform offshore wind management decisions while conserving and recovering the species.”
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NOAA and BOEM are also investing significant funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to conserve and recover the North Atlantic right whales. The investments include money to improve ships’ detection systems and funds to develop technologies that reduce hazards to the whales, such as fishing gear that do not pose entanglement risks to sea creatures.
The plan comes after the Biden administration announced a goal to generate 30 gigawatts of wind power offshore of the United States by 2030, and the new strategy was created partly in response to concerns from conservationists who were worried about the effects of the energy plan on the right whale population.
