Comment from Earthjustice

Dear National Marine Fisheries Service, Attached please find the names of 16,002 individuals urging the Service to reject the misguided attacks on the Rice’s whales’ status as a critically endangered species, and instead dedicate the agency’s resources to taking vital and overdue action to ensure the survival and recovery of our treasured Gulf whale. These individuals have signed onto the letter below. Attached to this letter is the file containing their names. Rice’s whales are the only great whales that live their entire lives in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Unfortunately, they are now one of the most endangered marine mammal species on the planet and will not survive without continued protection under the Endangered Species Act. Continued oil and gas development in the Gulf represents a clear, existential threat to the whale’s survival and recovery. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster alone wiped out nearly 20 percent of the whale’s population, and government scientists have concluded that the loss of even a single reproductive female whale would jeopardize the existence of this species. Even day-to-day oil and gas operations negatively impact the whales’ habitat. Seismic air gun surveys blare almost constantly across the northern Gulf as fossil fuel companies search for oil and gas deposits beneath the ocean. These deafening blasts mask calls that whales depend on to communicate, navigate, and find food over large ocean areas. And since Rice’s whales spend a lot of time hanging out within 50 feet of the water’s surface, they are especially at risk from ship strikes. Rice’s whales can recover as long as conditions improve, but that depends on our actions. We need additional protections now, not continued roll backs based on the oil industry’s self-interested mischaracterizations of science. The evidence is clear: Rice’s whales are a distinct species that have lived in the Gulf of Mexico for tens of thousands of years. If the U.S. does not step up its conservation efforts, we will likely face the first human-caused extinction of a great whale species. The National Marine Fisheries Service must reject the misguided attacks on the Rice’s whales’ status as a critically endangered species, and instead dedicate the agency’s resources to taking vital and overdue action to ensure the survival and recovery of our treasured Gulf whale. Sincerely, [undersigned] Please let me know if you need more information. Thank you for your attention to this matter.   Sincerely,   Alisha Wadhwa Digital Advocacy Intern