NOAA Fisheries launched an assessment Monday of an endangered whale that has been at the center of tensions in the Gulf of Mexico between the oil and gas industry and wildlife proponents.
The federal agency said in a Federal Register notice that it would conduct a status review of the Rice’s whale, whose exceedingly small population makes it one of the most critically endangered whales in the world.
The process aims to review any new scientific information about a species and can result in a change to its endangered listing status.
Though status reviews of plants or animals listed under the Endangered Species Act are periodically required, the announcement immediately alarmed environmentalists. It follows the Trump administration’s exceptional move in recent months to exempt all oil and gas activity in the Gulf from endangered species considerations. Around 50 Rice’s whales remain in the Gulf, according to estimates of its prevalence. The species lives nowhere else and is at risk from oil and gas activity, primarily from potential boat strikes.
