International trade group investigates alleged US failure to protect right whales

North Atlantic right whales
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement's Commission for Environmental Cooperation will investigate the U.S. for allegedly failing to enforce laws protecting right whales | Photo courtesy of comolok/Shutterstock
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The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will investigate the U.S. for allegedly failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws in the protection of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. 

The process to begin the investigation has been a lengthy one.

CEC representatives from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico agreed to begin the investigation on 17 January; however, Oceana filed the original complaint which prompted that decision in 2021 via the Submission on Enforcement Matters, a program which allows citizens and organizations to bring concerns about environmental neglect to the CEC.

In the complaint, Oceana argued that the U.S. had violated the USMCA by failing to enforce the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Speies Act (ESA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Oceana U.S. Campaign Director Gib Brogan said that the complaint was provoked by the fact that “international trade agreements like the USMCA require countries to do their jobs so that endangered speies can not only survive but recover.”

“Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales may have more of a fighting chance thanks to steps taken today to objectively assess what has and has not been done to save this species from extinction," he said. "Just as Canada and Mexico are expected to uphold their environmental laws under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the U.S. must be held to the same standard. Time is of the essence for these whales, and it's clear that the United States is not doing enough to protect them.” 

On 21 January, the CEC announced a request for public comment on the matter, which will be followed by an investigation, a draft report to be shared with each country for review and comment, and finally, the publication of the report, which will then be used to inform future talks between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico on the matter.

The investigation itself may take up to 120 days to complete, though the process can conclude more quickly. 

The current North Atlantic right whale population hovers around 370 individuals. 

Advocates for the whales argue that a leading cause of right whale deaths and injury is collisions with boats and entanglement in fishing gear, though the fishing industry in northeast North America has largely denied this.

In October 2024, the death of a right whale was linked to the Maine lobster industry, when a whale found dead off Massachussetts was entangled in gear which NOAA said bore markings of the Maine industry.

A number of proposals have been made to protect the animals. Most recently, the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden had proposed expanding speed limits for vessels in right whale territory but withdrew the proposal days before Biden left office. 


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