US removes protections for rare whale species in Gulf of Mexico

The United States government has removed legal protections for the Rice’s whale, one of the world’s rarest whale species.

Only around 50 of these whales are still alive, and they all live in one area of the Gulf of Mexico.

The decision was made last week by a special government committee. Officials said that protecting the whales was interfering with oil and gas production in the gulf.

The Secretary of Defense described domestic oil production as a national security issue, and used this argument to justify removing the protections.

The Rice’s whale was only recognised as a separate species in 2021. It is already in a very dangerous situation. The whales face serious threats from ship traffic, loud underwater noise from drilling equipment, and oil spills.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster alone killed around one fifth of all known Rice’s whales.

Without protections, oil and gas companies don’t need to slow their boats when passing through whale habitat. They also don’t need to monitor for the animals during drilling operations.

Scientists say these changes make it much more likely that the remaining whales will be killed or seriously harmed. The whales have nowhere else to go. They cannot move to a safer area because they depend on a very specific part of the ocean for food and survival.

Environmental groups have gone to court to try to reverse the decision. They argue that it is illegal and could lead to the complete extinction of the species. If that happens, it would be the first loss of a whale species in North American waters in approximately 300 years.