House Gambles with Survival for North Atlantic Right Whales in Latest Vote to Delay Protections

The House of Representatives today voted to pass H.R. 9436, which will delay imperative protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales by seven years. Defenders of Wildlife condemned this bill, also known as the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026.

Defenders of Wildlife's senior government relations representative, Dan Moss, reacted to the vote:

"Today's vote is a likely death sentence for some North Atlantic right whales. We are deeply disappointed that Congress is choosing to prioritize this untimely, ineffective bill before the existing moratorium on updated regulations even concludes," said Moss. "Right whale recovery and the economic wellbeing of New England lobsterman are not mutually exclusive, but this bill undermines the former while doing nothing to advance the latter. With only about 380 right whales and only 70 breeding females left on the planet, a single loss does great harm to the future prospects of this species. Seven years is too long to wait; this bill must be stopped to prevent a rapid decline in the North Atlantic right whale population."

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