NOAA

The sighting of more than 75 of the critically endangered whales has prompted federal regulators to issue voluntary vessel speed restrictions.

Hundreds of employees were cut from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration late last week, including the National Weather Service.

The federal funds will help scientists better track and protect North Atlantic right whales, whose distribution patterns have changed within the last decade due to warming waters.

This summer, for the first time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration successfully deployed drones to drop suction cup tags to the backs of right whales congregating on Georges Bank.

Fishermen have been warned to stay clear of the two wind and solar-powered boats, which will cruise along a predetermined path of 1,900 square miles in the northeastern Gulf of Maine.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to expand a pilot throughout New England that allows certain lobstermen to fish areas that are seasonally closed to protect endangered right whales. To participate, they must agree to test so-called on-demand or ropeless fishing gear.

New federal data on north Atlantic right whales paint a grim picture of the challenges ahead in restoring the endangered population.

Several hundred people attended a virtual meeting Tuesday evening, which NOAA officials billed as a forum to collect feedback from fishermen about possible trap limits and more seasonal closures and gear changes.

By 2050, with a foot of sea level rise expected, Sweet said coastal regions of the U.S. could see 45-70 flooding days, on average.

Maine lobstermen say there's a critical shortage of specialized trap-gear they need to comply with new federal whale protection rules that go into effect this spring. The industry and Maine political leaders are asking the feds to postpone the deadline by two months. But some gear-makers and suppliers say they can make it available, if only someone would order it.