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Freighters Must Brake for Endangered Whales Off US
Right whale get federal protection from speeding vessels
By Ambreen Ali
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Posted Dec 9, 08 1:32 PM CST
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(Newser)
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A new US law may save the world’s 400 remaining North Atlantic right whales from their worst enemy—large ships. Mariners will have to slow to 11.5mph as they slice through parts of the mammal’s migration path between New England and Florida, the Boston Globe reports. Since 2001, ships have struck a dozen of the endangered whales, which feed dangerously close to the surface.
The whales’ bloodied past is indicated in their namesake: They are the “right” whales to kill for oil because they float when dead. It took a decade-long battle to pass the federal measure, billed to reduce to 20% the odds of a whale dying after being struck.