Fw: Emergency Alert: Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales

[Guest guest]

Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife

 

In Canada, between 30 and 50 endangered North Atlantic right whales are on a

crash course for disaster. Take action now to save them!

 

Right Whales Need

Your Help

 

Thirty to fifty of the world's few remaining North Atlantic right whales are

on a crash course with disaster. Help save them - Urge Canadian officials to

delay opening the Bay of Fundy to lobster fishermen until these rare whales

leave the area.

 

There are only about 350 North Atlantic Right whales left on the planet,

making them the most endangered of the great whales. Right now, 30 to 50 are

facing death in the icy waters of Canada's Bay of Fundy.

 

Each year, the whales travel to these waters off the coast of New Brunswick

to feed, but then typically leave the area as winter approaches.

 

But this year is different. For some reason, the whales have remained in the

bay, putting them on a crash course with disaster once the lobster harvest

begins in the area today.

 

Take action now to save these whales. Urge the Canadian Minister of

Fisheries to delay opening the fishing grounds until the right whales have

left the area.

http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=5adHkJRraLrn7DRODxwewQ..

 

Entanglement in fishing gear is the second leading cause of death for North

Atlantic right whales, and lobster gear is one of the leading culprits.

 

Whales and other marine wildlife can get tangled in the vertical lines that

connect lobster traps on the ocean floor to buoys at the surface. They can

also become ensnared in the horizontal lines that connect the traps

together, known as groundlines.

 

Once caught up in this gear, whales have little hope of freeing themselves

and face a near certain death.

 

Help prevent a disaster! Urge the Canadian Minister of Fisheries to give

right whales the time they need to leave the area, so they don't become

ensnared and die.

http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=5adHkJRraLrn7DRODxwewQ..

 

With so few North Atlantic right whales left in the world, the loss of even

one moves the entire species that much closer to total extinction.

 

Lobster season starts today. I urge you to take action right now to save

these vanishing giants of the sea.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Rodger Schlickeisen

President

Defenders of Wildlife

 

http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=5adHkJRraLrn7DRODxwewQ..