January
23, 2019 by Patrick Whittle
Rescuers
who respond to distressed whales and other marine animals say the federal
government shutdown is making it more difficult to do their work.
A network
of rescue groups in the U.S. works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to respond to marine mammals such as whales and seals
when the animals are in trouble, such as when they are stranded on land or
entangled in fishing gear. But the federal shutdown, which is entering its 33rd
day on Wednesday, includes a shuttering of the NOAA operations the rescuers
rely upon.
NOAA
plays a role in preventing accidental whale deaths by doing things like
tracking the animals, operating a hotline for mariners who find distressed
whales and providing permits that allow the rescue groups to respond to
emergencies. Those functions are disrupted or ground to a halt by the shutdown,
and that's bad news if whales need help, said Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the
New England Aquarium in Boston, which has a rescue operation.
"If
it was very prolonged, then it would become problematic to respond to animals
that are in the water," LaCasse said. "And to be able to have a
better handle on what is really going on."
The
shutdown is coming at a particularly dangerous time for the endangered North
Atlantic right whale, which numbers about 411, said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, a
senior biologist with Whale and Dolphin Conservation of Plymouth,
Massachusetts. The whales are under tight scrutiny right now because of recent
years of high mortality and poor reproduction.
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