VOA科学技术2023--Groups Demand Urgent Rules to Protect Whales from Ships

Groups Demand Urgent Rules to Protect Whales from Ships

An alliance of environmental groups is calling for new federal rules to protect an endangered whale from crashes with ships.

The groups presented their demands in a document, called a petition, provided to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric¹ Administration (NOAA) on September 28.

The action aims to protect the North Atlantic right whale, which has long been considered endangered. The population of these extremely large sea animals has decreased sharply in recent years. Just 340 are believed to be alive today.

Officials at NOAA have said ship collisions are among the most serious threats to the survival of the whale. One rule the environmental groups are calling for would seek to prevent ship strikes by making more ships slow down for whales. NOAA has yet to release a final updated speed rule although it proposed new rules more than a year ago, the groups said.

Environmentalists have appealed for urgency in enacting² the measure. They say it is important to approve new rules before the upcoming birthing season. At that time of year, the whales migrate hundreds of miles from waters off New England and Canada to areas off the coasts of Florida and Georgia.

"Even one ship strike would bring these whales closer to extinction³, but speed limits can help prevent that," said Kristen Monsell. She is a legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that prepared the petition to NOAA. "Federal officials can't sit back and do nothing while right whales are in danger," Monsell told The Associated Press.

Katie Wagner is a spokesperson for NOAA. She said she expects the agency to announce its final action on the proposed rule sometime this year. That means the rule could be publicized during the middle of calving season and may not be put into effect until even later.

Wagner said NOAA knows about the petition but has a policy not to comment on legal matters. The agency is considering expanding "slow zones" off the U.S. East Coast, and also requiring more ships to obey those rules.

NOAA denied a request from environmentalists last year to immediately put new rules in place. At the time, the agency said in public documents that it was considering "long-term, substantive⁴" measures to reduce whale strikes by ships. Wagner said NOAA received more than 90,000 comments on the proposed rule and would use those to decide on its final action.

Right whales were once common off the U.S. East Coast. But the animals fell in numbers after years of heavy hunting activities. The whales have long been protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Right whales are also at risk of becoming accidentally entangled⁶ in fishing equipment. Proposed restrictions⁷ to prevent such entanglements⁸ have been the subject of a legal case between the federal government and fishermen.

Words in This Story

extinct – adj. no longer existing; when a living thing disappears from the Earth forever

calving –n. a word for when certain animals give birth

substantive – adj. important or serious

entangle⁵ – v. to cause something to become caught in something such as a net or ropes

1 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

2 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

3 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

4 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

5 entangle   

vt.缠住，套住；卷入，连累

参考例句：

• How did Alice manage to entangle her hair so badly in the brambles?爱丽丝是怎么把头发死死地缠在荆棘上的？
• Don't entangle the fishing lines.不要让钓鱼线缠在一起。

6 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》