Entangled: The Race to Save Right Whales from Extinction (2020) - full transcript

[boat rumbling]

[water rushing]

[whale pulsing]

[somber music]

[Scott] The right whale
is an extraordinary creature.

It's really one of the wonders
of the living world,

but if something in our
management doesn't change,

the direction of the
population points to zero.

And that's extinction.

[woman] The North Atlantic
right whale is considered

one of the most endangered
species on the planet.



This'll be
the first large whale

in modern history
that would go extinct.

[epic music]

[Michael Asaro] 85%
of the right whale population

now bears scars that indicate
entanglement injury.

This is a big problem.

And it's an urgent problem.

[man] It's a tragedy that
we're losing the right whale.

It's emblematic
of large scale changes

that are happening
on the planet.

Human beings can't exist
without bio-diversity.

And this is maybe a harbinger
or where we're going.

[woman 2] We need to put
as much pressure as we can

on the agency to step up
and take action right now.



I don't think the urgency
can be overstated.

[woman 3] Human action
is killing these whales.

And human action
has the ability to save them.

Lobstermen
are stewards of the sea

and they don't want
to entangle anything.

I sat here and listened
to environmentalist

after environmentalist tell me

what a murderous
individual I am.

My opinion about
the whales is fuck 'em.

What more can we do?

Eventually
they're going to die off.

It's gonna happen
no matter what.

As your governor,
I will do everything I can

to defend
Maine's lobster industry

in the face of this absurd
federal overreach.

The challenge is to find ways
for the fishing industry

and the right whales
to co-exist in the same waters.

NOAA is the fox
got in the chicken coup.

You're going to be fired
for being a liar

and a person who works
to kill off the right whale.

One of the problems is that
fisheries are one of the main

factors that are endangering
protected species.

You end up
with one organization

deeply conflicted
with its mission.

♪

[Rep. Huffman]
Good morning, everyone.

Welcome to this hearing
of the subcommittee

on water, oceans and wildlife.

We'll now examine
the many threats

facing one of the most
endangered marine mammals

in the world.

[Dr. Kraus] The stock
is now declining rapidly

with only about 400 left.

[Rep. Huffman] That's fewer
right whales in existence

than members of congress.

And there are fewer
than a hundred

breeding females
in the population.

[Dr. Kraus] In 2017 and 18,

20 right whales
were found dead,

representing nearly 5%
of the population.

Of the 12 whales
that were examined carefully,

all had died
from human causes.

[Rep. Huffman]
In order to maintain

a sustainable
right whale population,

no more than one right whale,
per year,

can be killed
by human causes.

That number has been exceeded
every single year

for the last 20 years.

The science shows
that climate change may be

shifting the food source
northward,

which means the whales will be
moving further into areas

with shipping lanes
and lobster traps.

No wonder these whales
are in such dire straits.

If more is not done to save
this iconic species,

scientists predict
it will go extinct

in the next few decades.

[solemn music]

[Michael Moore] It's two miles
at zero one zero.

It's back to the east
corner of yesterday.

We're in Cape Cod Bay
and so we're headed over

to a patch where we saw
a lot of whales yesterday.

What I do for a living is
I worry about the relationship

between humans
and marine mammals.

We have to figure out
why the animals

are not recovering
and what we can do about it

to try and, uh, secure the...
The longevity of the species.

[Amy] They're right here.

[Michael Moore] We just don't
give these guys a chance

to live a full life.

[scientist]
There's a whale right here.

[Michael Moore]
What we're hoping to learn

from these animals today
is who they are,

and how they are.

The who is largely done
by a photograph of the head.

[Amy] A little skim
feeding there.

Okay.

I'm here to collect images

to assess evidence
of entanglement,

scarring or vessel strikes
and look at their health.

[Michael Moore] The right
whales have been in the bay

for a couple of months now
and they've been feeding deep,

but they're beginning to come
up to the surface to feed more.

That's it.
That saw us there.

Often you'll see
a tail going down.

Occasionally you'll see
a back as they surface.

It's a matter
of getting into the head

of a whale as to
what it's going to do next.

[Amy] We keep track
of individual whales

through these
callosity patterns

on top of their head.

Each whale has
its own unique pattern.

Very different from each other.

We also have whales
that have been entangled

that we know
are carrying gear in here.

This is pretty bad
entanglement scars

"cause sort of deep,
raw tissue there.

We wanna keep track of those
individuals in particular.

Especially
with the drone footage.

[scientist] Go right,
go right, go right.

Go right,
go right, go right.

[Michael Moore] Got a couple
of drones on the boat.

We use them for examining
the body condition

of these animals
and the length.

And if you do that
year by year,

you can get
at the growth rates

and also the changing
in the condition of the animals

with the various
impacts they're suffering from.

And when a whale
gets entangled in rope,

they can take
six months to die.

There is an industry
there that causes

a very significant
animal welfare problem.

[scientist] There.

[Amy] Cape Code Bay
is one of the richest

feeding grounds
for this population.

Once the plankton
here has run its course,

then they'll shift to
other habitats further north.

[Michael Moore]
Despite all of the efforts

that are going on,
entanglement has got worse.

In the last 16 years,
we've Killed 70 right whales

and entanglement
was the primary problem.

[Amy] If we don't stop
the level of mortality,

we could just be
driving the nail

into the coffin
of the species.

And it could happen fast.

[boat rumbling]

[Rob] My name is Rob Martin.

I'm a commercial fisherman, and I
probably been fishin' too long,

since I was a kid
fishing out of a skiff.

My grandfather used to fish
back in the '30s

and my great-grandparents,
they fished out of dories

and I've always been
infatuated by the sea.

And that's why I...
What I always want to do

is to go lobstering.

When it's in your blood,
it's in your blood.

Five years ago when we got
one of the closures,

it was a lot bigger than what
we thought it was going to be.

When I found out it did happen,
I was very, very upset.

I had three months
not getting paid.

It hit, that first year,
it hit hard.

College tuition
payments to make,

I got mortgage payments.

It seemed to get tougher
and tougher every year.

I don't want
to see any more closures.

I want to see
fishermen and scientists

actually work together.

And I'm very concerned
'cause nobody knows

what's going to happen.

It's anybody's guess.

[boat shuts off, Rob sighs]

Peace and quiet.

I am preparing, right now,
for the upcoming season

to get as much
stuff done as I can.

And basically,
if I'm not working

on the boat,
I've been working on gear

on a nice day.

And doing it...
Pushing 40 years now

on my own, doing it,
so that's a long time.

These are all my 800 traps.

And the reason
why they're all here

in the yard is because,
right now,

I'm not allowed to fish
for three months

and just waiting
for May 1st

so I can start
settin' gear again.

The bulk of my gear's
are already ready here.

You check if there's
no holes in the heads.

Put the trap tag in.
Go on to the next one.

And this is all
we'll safe rope.

The bulk of my vertical lines,
if I can get it,

is orange, because in the
water, the eyeball of a whale,

even though they see
black and white...

So they can pick up
red and orange the best.

That probably breaks
at probably 4,000 pounds.

There's a lot of...
A lot of rope here.

Whatever needs
touch up with paint,

I'll paint a bunch of buoys,
I'll replace those

or either the rope
on those and...

go order some bait
for a week and a half from now.

Start settin' gear.

This is Laurie Karen,
my better half

who is a lot better than me.

[Laurie] It was
somewhat shocking to us

when the final rule came out
and the magnitude,

the... the fact
that it encompassed

3,000 square
nautical miles.

Five years later,

we're being told
that it's not enough.

[broadcaster] Happening now,
Atlantic right whales

are at the center
of a protest along

the New England coastline.

Of course, these lobstermen
know that they are up against

an endangered species,
but they say what isn't fair

is the restriction
that federal lawmakers

are putting on them.

[Laurie] In reality,
the closure that took place

put a cork in three harbors.

[Beth] Thank you all
for being here today to show

your support for the local
commercial lobstermen,

their families,
crew and shore side businesses

who cannot
go to work today.

The mass restricted area
has devastating

economic impacts on the fleet.

We are here in Plymouth,
America's hometown,

where this country was built

on commercial fishing.

And this historic way of life
is being threatened every day.

Conservation groups
continually sue

the federal government to add

more and more restrictive
regulations

on the commercial
lobster industry as a whole.

Enough is enough.

Where will the financial
help come from

to help these families?

Thank you
for being here today.

[Rob] The guys all around here
are waiting to set gear.

The boats are loaded,
waiting to go.

My message to the government
is work with us.

We've done the right thing.

[Laurie] Rob's income
is the one that's always

paid the mortgage
and then some.

So for us to lose

up to one-third of his earning
income potential,

it was quite
devastating for us.

What's the point
of fishing anymore

if you can't even go fishing
to make a paycheck?

It's going to be
a hobby soon.

Just next to impossible
wantin' to do it anymore.

[Beth] This
is economically devastating.

Yes. Because it's not just
affecting their businesses.

It affects everyone

that depends
upon the lobster industry.

We have bait dealers
here today.

We have fuel suppliers.

Shore side
marine businesses depend on...

Local restaurants depend
upon the lobster industries.

This makes no sense 'cause
is this the only place

where there's whales?
I don't think so.

I'm on the brink
of going out of business.

Just stinks being
the fallout of a global issue.

There is a lot of focus on the
right whales due to the fact

that they're in danger,
but there's also going to be

an endangered
lobster fishermen.

We don't want that to happen.

We want to try and coexist.

[Laurie] Here's some letters
that we've written

from the South Shore Lobster
Fishermen's Association.

I would suggest we've had

75 to 100 meetings
at this point.

Articles on gear modification.

This is the lawsuit filed
by the environmentalists.

There was another
lawsuit in 2011.

Another separate
lawsuit in 2018

in the Massachusetts
Federal Court.

Division
of Marine Fishery Responses.

These would be some
advisories from NOAA,

conservation groups,
letters that have been written.

It just goes
on and on and on.

As I started looking
into it and attending meetings

with Rob, there was
a bit of an injustice.

It's been really,
really important to us

that we educate ourselves
through this process.

So as you can see,

we've killed a lot of trees,
unfortunately.

We didn't
battle the regulations.

We stepped forward
graciously to see

how we could exist within them,
and we continue with that.

I do believe that the whales
deserve protection,

but fishermen remain
on the sidelines closed.

There are casualties

and those need
to be considered.

[Donna] We want to welcome you
to this TRT meeting.

We know that we are
at a critical juncture.

We need to make changes.

We want whales
and fisheries to coexist.

You were the group of people,
the experts

who know the whales,
know the fisheries,

and can come up
with a consensus approach

to solving these very

intractable challenges.

[Scott] We're at the Atlantic
Large Whale.

Take Reduction Team,

which is the National Marine
Fisheries Service

approach to reducing
the consequences

of human activities
on right whales.

It's fishermen,
conservationists,

researchers,
state and federal managers,

all getting together
to try to hammer out

the solutions
to this problem.

Those of you who have been
at this for decades

know what we're
asking you to do.

We have to achieve
60 to 80% reduction

in serious injuries and
moralities to right whales.

Uh, the situation for right
whales continues to worsen.

So now is the time to act.

[man] I mean,
the discussions that I've had

with a lot of people
around this table,

there are very
divergent views.

Fundamentally,
we have a nearly

billion-dollar industry

and an urgent need
to protect these whales

from entanglement
in fisheries

so that the fishermen can
maintain their livelihoods

and that we can preserve
endangered species.

You'll note that
in nine of the last ten years,

at least one right whale
died due to entanglement.

It actually increased
from 21% between 1970 and 2002

to 51%
in the last 16 years.

So now more than 75%
of the anthropogenic deaths

are due to entanglement.

But it does just
kind of underline,

again,
that the entanglement problem

is the most pressing issue
for right whales right now.

Entanglements
in fixed gear fisheries,

including things
like lobster trap pots,

basically, it's the line
that connects the buoy

at the surface of the ocean
to the trap at the bottom

that's collecting lobster...
Is an entanglement hazard.

And we know that
right whales, in particular,

are highly susceptible.

[Sarah] These animals
clearly are suffering

quite a bit
before they die.

Imagine panicking,
being stuck underwater

and not being able
to get to the surface.

[whale crying]

We're looking
at between 50 and 100

right whales getting
entangled every year.

The idea that you can just
push that under the rug

is not going to end well
for the lobster fisheries

that wants
to continue that denial.

The data doesn't support it.

[Erin] I'm struggling
with the conversation

that we're having,
we're being very specific

about how that happens
in a time frame

that I can understand
with the decision

that we're supposed to make.

I think that
the smaller spatial closures

are really not probably
going to be as effective.

Right whales' movements
are really hard to predict.

[Michael Asaro]
Serious injury moralities

that are reported
in the stock assessment report

are just what's observed.

And we know that there
are many that are unobserved.

[Charles]
It is simple arithmetic.

The number of calves
being born is too low

and the number of deaths
is too high.

And the data are unequivocal.

The North Atlantic right whale
is going down.

The arrow points to zero.

If we are moving
forward with regulations

that are going
to require fishermen

to make more sacrifices,
I would urge you

not to put them
in a situation

where the solution
you come up with is too modest.

Because,
at the end of the day,

we'll be back
at this table again.

[Erin] We don't have the time
to have these battles.

These whales will go extinct

if we don't make
these changes.

We are motivated
to act by our conscience,

by the law,
so that the fishermen

can maintain
their livelihoods,

and that we can preserve
endangered species.

♪ It is advertised in Boston,
New York and Buffalo ♪

♪ Haul away your running gear
and blow boys blow ♪

♪ They'll send you
to New Bedford ♪

♪ That famous whaling port ♪

♪ Haul away
your running gear ♪

♪ And blow, boys, blow ♪

[John] My family made

a considerable
amount of money

hunting whales for hundreds
of years in all oceans.

The legacy of whaling
is something that

the entire city deals with.

The business
of whaling had

a great cultural influence
on the ports that it touched,

especially,
of course, New Bedford.

[Christina] New Bedford was
one of the most important

whaling ports in the world.

It was the wealthiest city
per cap it a

twice in its existence.

[John] As Herman Melville said,
all the brave houses

and flowery gardens
were each harpooned

and dragged up hither
from the bottom of the sea.

The killing of whales
is part of our history.

It looks like kind of a hard,
tough business.

Well, everything
aboard a whaler is hard.

[Christina] Go out to sea.
You'd see a whale.

You'd drop the whale boats
into the water.

The men would go off
and catch the whale.

[broadcaster] They haul up
onto the whale

so that the matte
can lance it.

And they have
this Nantucket sleigh ride.

It's like having
a bear by the tail.

You either let go

and get out of the way
or, uh, kill it.

Such a pleasure
tonight to have Christina

connect with us
and she's our curator.

[woman] Yes.

She's gonna give
us all a tour.

[Christina] And if you guys
want to bring

any white wine,
is fine.

We can go behind
the scenes with those.

- And just don't tell Jordan.
- [both laughing]

Our collection's director.

See if we can
head down to storage.

[indistinct chattering]

[man] Oh,
I've never been here.

I just want to show you

some of the whaling
instruments back here.

All of these
were bent by the animal.

[woman whispering] Amazing.

You'd shoot this into the whale

and this would pivot.

So it's tragic
and horrible to look at,

but it also shows
how powerful these fights were.

And these ones here
are exploding harpoons.

These would be shot out
of those guns

and explode in the animal.

So you imagine shooting this

- off your shoulder.
- [woman] It would give you

- a big bruise.
- It would break mine.

Some of them

- are incredibly smelly.
- [woman] Oh, yeah.

If... if I open it,
it'll really...

[woman] No, don't open it.

This would be a smelly area.

[man] Wow, look at these.

What is this?
These are weapons.

It's amazing.

[Christina] The North Atlantic
right whales had good blubber.

They had good baleen
and they floated.

And they lived
within a very close proximity

to other kinds
of human activities.

So the legend is that
the North Atlantic right whales

were called right whales
because they were

the right whales to kill.

[broadcaster] No matter
what size they were,

you took them as fast
as you could because

you didn't know whether you
would go a week, two weeks,

or sometimes a month
without seein' a whale.

[John] We decimated
whale populations

in the creation
of the first energy business

in the United States.

It was outlawed

with the Marine
Mammal Protection Act.

[Christina] She was hit
by a ship and she was pregnant.

So we lost two possible
reproductive females

in that one ship strike.

We're still whaling
just with different intention.

So we're still killing them,
but not on purpose.

[solemn music]

♪

Some of the biology
and ecology of whales

that made them vulnerable
to Yankee Whale men

are the same kinds
of behaviors

and biology
that make them susceptible

to modern human
activity impacts.

Like ship strikes,

entanglements
and noise pollution.

New Bedford
is still a seaport.

For the last 20 years,
it's been

the number one fishing port
in the country,

by a mile.

[Christina] If nothing happens,
in 20 years,

there will be
no more reproducing females.

That's the projection.
It's pretty gruesome.

[whales pulsing]

[John] If we let
this species go extinct

on our watch,
we all have to live with that.

♪ She's the right whale,
livin' in the wrong time ♪

♪ One of the last survivors
in along line ♪

This is a festival
to fire up

these young people
to help save this animal.

♪ Shipping lanes
and fishing nets ♪

♪ Can they beat the odds? ♪

[Bradley] The work
of these students

and other visual artists

really helps connect
the public to why this issue

is so important,
like nothing else.

♪ I'm hopin'
you can make it through ♪

♪ Make it through,
I'm countin' ♪

♪ We're counting on you ♪

[all] She's counting on us.

And she's counting on you.

[audience cheering]

It is so great to be at the New
England Aquarium today to

celebrate
these amazing animals.

What we're trying to do here
today is raise awareness.

We're simulating
right whale entanglement.

Which is the leading cause
of mortality for the species.

So, it's sort
of the major reason

why they're
on the road to extinction.

We have postcards
that we have made up

of the students' arts
and the postcards will go

to elected representatives

asking them to support
the Save the Right Whale Act.

I came here because
I wanted to save the whales

because people accidentally
get it in their nets.

[Erica] It's the proximity
to extinction that brings

some urgency to those of us
that still have an opportunity

to make a difference,
to try to make a difference.

[girl] I learned about
how many deaths there were

just off the shores
of the Cape,

which is where I'm from.

And I learned
about how serious it is.

We really appreciate artwork.

Rather than just seeing
numbers and reading words,

you see an image.

[Brian] We can remember
a powerful image

for the rest of our lives,

and that can be a very,
very powerful tool

in terms of moving that needle
in favor of conservation.

Among the greatest things
I've ever had

the privilege of doing

was being in the presence
of a right whale.

I was diving alone.

I was into the sub-Antarctic
of New Zealand

and I had
this giant right whale,

like a submarine,
coming down.

I remember bending over
backwards in like a yoga pose.

My tank was scraping the sand.

Here was this animal
with a softball-sized eye

turning to look at me.

Probably trying to
figure out what I was.

It is breathtaking
in a way that I can't explain.

Will we let this species
slip through our hands

and watch it go extinct?

Or will we protect
what we love?

[man] Okay, ready?

Thank you again for coming out,
for honoring

the North Atlantic right whale.

We wouldn't like it
if we went extinct,

so why make other animals
go extinct?

[computer beeping]

[computer] Your exercise
has been started.

[Michael Burns] We use
the simulator extensively

to practice
navigational skills,

ship handling skills
and collision avoidance.

Not only with other ships,
but with marine life.

Operating a ship
in heavy weather can be

particularly challenging,
especially

when it comes to being able
to detect a right whale.

They don't show up on radar.

They are not visible at
a great distance and at night

it can be virtually impossible
to detect their presence.

[solemn music]

Unfortunately,
with right whales,

a lot of the technology
that we have

isn't particularly helpful.

Our best asset
to detect and avoid

a right whale is our own eyes
looking out the windows.

[thunder rumbling]

♪

[Christopher] My name
is Christopher W. Clark.

I study the sounds
of life on the planet,

particularly
the voices of the whales.

So these are the sounds
of two right whales

greeting each other.

[whales pulsing]

So when I've been doing
recordings of whales,

there were times when
I was literally in the boat.

I had the hydrophones
in the water,

I had headphones on,
and I can't hear anything.

And I'm going,
"What... what's... what's wrong?

And then I realized,
"Oh, I'm in the shipping lane."

The sound
from the ship is coming

from tens and tens
of miles away.

But I can't hear the whales

and I can't see it
on my displays.

They can't hear each other
and they can't communicate.

When you're living
in the ocean,

you are highly
dependent upon sound

as your primary mechanism
for survival.

These animals navigate
in the ocean using sound.

When that noise gets
up to a certain point,

you see their whole
communication system

just collapse.

The noise increases
their stress levels

and their stress level
makes them more susceptible

to injury and to disease.

It's just this
rising tide of noise.

And then the whales
are suffering in their ability

to communicate and maintain
their normal behaviors.

- [Brad] Parking brake.
- [man] Offset.

Static selectors normal.

[Tim] Our primary job
is to monitor right whales.

The challenge with flying over
right whales

can be a unique.

[control tower]
You're cleared for take off.

[Brad] For these surveys,
we start off flying

straight lines at a thousand
feet over the water.

We have two observers
monitoring the ocean surface

and looking for indications
that right whales are present.

[man on radio] We got a right
whale. 10-4, Tango-Whiskey.

[Brad] Once a whale is spotted,
we'll then maneuver

the aircraft
over the whale in order

for them to be able
to take pictures.

[Tim] We use
photo identification

to tell how
many whales are there.

We're also
checking the whales

to see if there's
any entanglement.

With monitoring,
we can pinpoint the key areas

that are important
to either have ships slow down

or to modify fishing gear
to reduce the risk

that whales
can become entangled.

Right whales
are highly migratory.

They range from Florida up
through into Canadian waters.

In 2015,
we started doing some surveys

up in the Gulf of Sts Lawrence.

We found a large
number of whales there

coincident
with a major mortality event.

A total of 12
right whales were found

in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence dead.

[Brad] When we do
fly over a carcass,

it is a little disheartening.

[Tim] We spend
a lot of our time helping

the Canadian government
relocate carcasses

so they can tow them
back to shore, to examine them,

to find out exactly
what the cause of death was.

[Indigenous singing
and drumming]

I'm here to do a ceremony
to honor the spirit

of an animal
that's very magnificent.

It's important that we let

the Creator
and the spirits know

that we've heard the message

about the hard times
that are coming

when the whales come ashore.

[singing
and drumming continues]

[Stephanie] We're in
northeastern New Brunswick

on Miscou Island.

We're here to necropsy
the right whale

that's, uh, behind us here.

♪

The pathologists,
along with, uh, many vet techs

and... and their team
are, uh, performing a necropsy

on the right whale
to hopefully identify

what could possibly
be the cause of death.

The one thing
we're going to do,

try to get the complete history
from the previous sightings,

because we know that
he's been entangled before.

And was he disentangled,
did he shed

- the gear on his own?
- [woman] Yes.

It's a very
difficult thing to do,

as we look
at this beautiful animal

and then have to open it up
and look inside.

Does anyone need
a new knife or anything?

- [man] I like this one now.
- [Tonya] Okay.

It was extremely fresh,
and the fresher the animal is,

the more we can learn.

We have various samples
from all the major organs

and then we have
a variety of bones

and baleen
going for genetics.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

are in charge
of the management,

so the information
is provided to them.

It is then
in their hands to figure out

what the next steps are
and to decide what to do.

[Adam] In 2017
when North Atlantic

right whales showed up
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

for the first time
in significant numbers,

we didn't have
mitigation measures,

uh, in place specific
to that like we did

in other parts
of... of Atlantic Canada,

where North Atlantic
right whales were present.

And we started
to see the impacts

of that in terms
of some whale moralities.

[Tonya] We had
17 animals that had died,

five in the US,
12 in Canada.

That was a major light
turning on for a lot of people.

And we ultimately closed
the Gulf fishery in 48 hours.

[reporter]
The Department of Fisheries

and Oceans announced
the closure of ten zones

to lobster fishing
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

This following the sighting
of five endangered.

North Atlantic right whales.

[Jonathan] In 2017,

it was a news for everybody,
but for us too.

Bottom line,
it was an inconvenience

that... that cost us
financially.

[Steve] Not one person
in the fishing industry

would agree
with what was going on.

They know anything can happen

and they can't do
nothing about it.

That's why
there was a protest.

[journalist]
Hundreds of traps

were discarded
on the front steps

of Liberal MP Serge Cormier'S
Carquet head office.

[Adam] The lobster and crab
fishery in Atlantic Canada

is a huge contributor

to the economy
in those provinces,

representing over $2 billion
in economic value.

[Daryl] Compared to,
like, ten, 15 years ago.

Volume has doubled,
if not tripled.

It's possible
that, uh, climate change

has something to do with it.

Lobster seems to be migrating

to colder temperatures.

These measures
have had a huge impact

on profit margins.

[journalist 2] The union
has been asking DFO

to reconsider
the complete closure.

[Tonya] Immediately
following 2017,

Canada has been lapsing

in its implementation
of our Species at Risk Act.

[Adam] We did put in place
a variety of measures

and those measures have evolved
over the last three years.

[Daryl] And there's been some
changes made this year

from last year that allows
us to continue to fish

in these shallower waters
where the whales

don't seem to pass.

[journalist 3] Research
done in Canada and the U.S.

suggests that's
where the whales

and their calves spent
a considerable amount of time.

[Tonya] We went
through a lot in 2017.

We were very fortunate
last year in Canada

not to deal
with any dead right whales,

so we're hoping
for that to continue.

But, uh, obviously there were
other things at play.

The causes
are still being assessed

and the final necropsy reports
will be coming out.

[Jonathan] Right now,
those whales are stressing us.

They are aggressive.
They close very fast.

It make
the job for us very hard.

[Steve] Let's see what caused
the death of this whale

before put a dark cloud
on fisherman's head.

[Daryl] It's a sad situation,
but it's hard to take one

and say we have
to change the world

to save one
particular species.

The whales
are just another story

in a big book of changes
that we've already seen

and will continue to see.

Scientists continue
to study what is driving

the distribution
of North Atlantic right whales.

It certainly does include
climate change.

[Tonya] I mean,
it's actually very hard

to turn around and look at it

because, uh, we've done this
way too much.

And the thing is,
its ability to survive

almost solely rests
in our hands.

[reversing beeps]

[David] Bring it on board.

I've been measuring
this cross-section

for the last seven years.

We sampled
these different organisms,

from the algae,
the bacteria and the viruses

all the way up
to the zooplankton,

the food for right whales.

Okay, so,
if we lower this thing,

we're coring the ocean

and everything you catch
in your zooplankton net

is everything that's out there
that's going to become massive.

Right? The swordfish,
the lobster larvae.

And since
we're talking about the base

of the food chain,
it's what drives

the productivity
of everything else.

There are live
animals in here

and we're going to move
these things

into a small jar

and then we're going
to pour alcohol on them

and it'll be preserved
for a good week.

So if you look in here...

you see all those
darting animals?

- [kids] Yeah.
- Those are all copepods.

Copepods are the most abundant
animal on the planet, period.

If you crushed them all up,

it's the equivalent
of about a trillion humans.

How does a 40-ton animal

live on an animal
that is this big?

It's only because
all of the copepods

go down at the same time
and they aggregate

into a compact layer
of just fat animals from here

across the Atlantic to Norway.

It forms a density
that makes it worthwhile

for an animal
to dive to feed on them.

Some of these
copepods have been around

for 200 million years.

They've adapted
and fine tuned their life cycle

to live in a particular
environmental setting.

And now that environmental
setting is changing faster

than they're able to adapt.

As the temperature
has been increasing,

the populations
of these calanus

have been decreasing.

And the organisms
that depend on them,

such as right whales,

are not going
to find sufficient food.

It's that disconnect that's
beginning to cause a problem.

That's a calanus.
Looks like one.

Looks like
she's swimming like that.

They're tiny
little organisms

that have this really complex
behavior pattern.

While this is actually
a really good image

of how much fat they have.

This is what right whales eat,
they eat Calanus finmarchicus.

[Nick] Right whales
need to find and eat

thousands and thousands
of pounds of calanus per day

when they're feeding
in the Gulf of Maine.

So even small declines
can have a huge difference.

The waters
of the Gulf of Maine

have been warming faster
than 99.9%

of the rest
of the world's oceans.

There's a strong
inverse relationship

between temperature
and calanus.

When waters get warm,
we see a big decline

in calanus and especially
the energy-rich calanus

that right whales need.

Depending on where you look
and the time of year,

you can see anywhere from

a 30 to a 90% decline
in calanus.

Then the right whales
have to start

looking elsewhere
for their food.

They've started
showing up in places

where we didn't have management

and conservation programs
in place.

So they were more
vulnerable to things,

like ship strikes
or gear entanglements.

We've built
our management strategy

around this idea
that the right whales

are going to do roughly
the same thing every year.

And as the climate has changed,
it's really altered

the predictability
in that pattern.

Their moralities
have gone up so sharply

because all of a sudden
those management strategies

don't work anymore.

I believe that the team here,
you put something forward

that's in the ballpark of
what is needed for the species.

Okay, obviously
it has to go back to the team,

we have a discussion about it.

[Stormy] People took the
situation seriously this time.

It has gone a direction
that we have not seen

in nearly, uh, a quarter
of a century of doing this.

This is the least
squishy discussion

we have had in 25 years.

Now,
as a Maine lobster fisherman,

I am responsible

for three different
families directly.

And my ability
to come home today was...

And to be able to tell them
that I might not be able

to support them in the future

was something I had had
a really,

really hard time
thinking about.

In my boat alone,
I am going to remove

10.78 miles
of vertical line.

It's scary for me,
but I know that's something...

And I can go back to my fishery
and have that conversation.

I am here basically trying
to get myself out of a job.

Am I so certain, you know,
on this consensus

that I will disband
my disentanglement team?

I'm no fool.

But this is the best step
that I have seen taken

since I've been on the team.

[Michael Asaro]
If you can live with

moving this package forward,
please raise your hand.

In 20 years of meeting
and convening this team,

it has never
put forward measures

as strong as what
has been accomplished today.

[gentle music]

[clapping]

Who cannot
live with this package?

- Sharon?
- While this has

a lot of attraction for me,

and I think there's a lot
here that can be useful,

my concern is I don't see
what else is going to be

considered
by the agency besides this,

and I don't consider
this sufficient.

[Charles] So I don't think it's
the solution to the problem.

But I think
we came very close.

[Scott] In my opinion,
probably lead us

to a situation
where the unsustainable kills

of right whales in
the fishing industry will stop.

There's absolutely a need
for a expedited implementation

of what can be done as quickly
as it can be done.

When we look at such deep
cuts to the fisheries,

we do have to look at,
you know,

the... the possibility
of unintended consequences.

[Erica] If the measures
necessary to reduce risk

can't be implemented
right away,

then we urge NIMS
to take emergency action.

[Grant] It's gonna be
devastating to some

communities, so nobody's
won here except maybe

and hopefully the right whale.

I feel like this
is a really huge step to...

To have a 50% vertical line
reduction in some areas.

The industry has really
stepped up to do their part.

Measures developed
here today,

um, are very likely to have,

uh, potential severe
economic impacts

to the state
of Maine's lobster fishery.

The recommendations put forward
here today are a big ask.

We did not hammer out
all the details

and the devil
is in the details.

And how something
as large as a 50% reduction

in vertical line
impacts the fishery.

We need to maintain
our rights to disagree

if something isn't panning out
in the way that

can be implemented
appropriately for the state.

[car speeding]

[Rob] I'm just finishin' up
the last week of the closure.

Starting to set gear.

The load of traps
in the boat,

I got a load of traps
in the dock.

I have to bring two loads
with the trailer with ropes.

tryin' to get as much gear
as I can in the water

right now to...

start making money.

We just got done
with the Atlantic Large Whale.

Take Reduction Team
a week and a half ago.

A lot got done.

There's been
no more added closures.

And Maine has to reduce

their vertical lines by 50%
in the long run.

If you're able to go
fishing still

and that's all you got to do,
I wouldn't be complaining.

Because it's a lot harsher

measures
that could have happened.

There's probably
over 10,000 feet

of rope here
on these four trawls...

including the vertical line.

I fish 800 traps total

with only 80
vertical lines altogether.

Plus fishing 800 singles
to be 800 vertical lines.

And everything's tied down
where do they go,

I'll throw a... rope over
the top of those high fliers.

Boom, boom, boom.

We're ready to go.

Maine is taking
a stand against

a strict new federal plan

to stop right whales
from dying.

[static crackling]

Maine Congressional delegation

is reaching out
to President Trump tonight,

asking him to help
the lobster industry.

[journalist]
Maine's representatives say

new federal regulations
designed to protect whales

are instead a grave threat
to thousands of people

who rely
on the lobster fishery.

[Julie] Coastal fishermen,
from east and west.

I want to welcome you

to the Maine
Lobsterman's Rally.

We all know why we're here.

[Rock] This is going
to destroy our coastline,

our small communities,

our lobster industries,
the only industry we have left.

[Rep. Pingree] We all care
about the right whale,

but we all believe
there's a right way

to going
about doing this.

And this proposal
isn't the way.

[Rep. Collins] Maine's entire
congressional delegation

and Governor Mills

stand with you in this fight.

My administration
will not allow the bureaucrats

of Washington, DC to undermine
our lobster industry

or our economy with foolish,
unsupported

and ill-advised regulations.

We truly believe
from the bottom of our hearts

that Maine lobstermen
are not part of the problem.

When a species of whale
is at risk of extinction,

who has a seat at the table
to ensure that the process

behind such decisions
is fair and equitable?

[Mike] NOAA
has chosen to persecute.

Maine's lobster industry.

Not to diminish the threat
to the right whale,

but as an expedient means

to get the environmentalists

off their back.

[State Sen. Jackson]
I'm more than willing

to stand with you and fight
like hell

to make sure that no more

of not having the government
listen to me.

When we've been fighting these

burdensome rules that we've had

to go through and the nonsense.

Enough is enough.

There's thousands
and thousands of jobs

and people who depend on this.

Once we lose a fishery,
it's gone forever.

[Richard] I can't think
of one thing

that the National Marine
Fisheries Service

has ever done to help a fishery

besides regulate
it to extinction.

[cheering]

[Sarah Sharpe] Today
we're at the IFAW Marine Mammal.

Rescue Warehouse.

This is our rescue
operations centers.

And so we keep
a lot of our rescue equipment

here so that we can
run out the door any time,

uh, marine mammals
need rescuing.

[Dr. Sharpe] My name
is Dr. Sarah Sharpe,

and I'm the animal
rescue veterinarian

with the International Fund
for Animal Welfare.

We do all of the marine
mammal stranding response

from the Rhode Island border
all the way through Cape Cod.

It's one of the
busiest stranding

areas in all of the world.

[woman] We just got back
from our [indistinct] necropsy.

We want to still consider
an acute process

either human interaction,
but we didn't see any other

signs,
or an acute disease process.

I would keep entanglement
on the differential list

for this animal just
because we just simply couldn't

examine her
for evidence of entanglement

because the sharks had
already eaten away those parts.

It's extremely rare

at this point
to not have a whale that has

some evidence of entanglement.

These whales
get entangled in line.

They start thrashing.

They can't get
to the surface to breathe.

It's a quick death,

but it's actually
a fairly traumatic event.

When we see whales
that are entangled

for a really long
period of time,

they can have
a number of different wounds

associated
with the entangling gear.

The line can
embed over the blowhole.

That's not only
going to be painful,

but it's also going
to significantly impact

the animal's
ability to breathe.

This line, over time,
essentially works deeper

and deeper,
and it not only cuts

through the skin
and the blubber and the muscle,

but it actually starts
cutting into the bone.

Essentially acts as
a very slow guillotine almost,

cutting through
that whale tissue.

Even if it's not lethal
to them immediately,

these are things
that can decrease their ability

to carry calves to term

and then reproduce
that population.

The slight little sliver
of hope that I have

is that these deaths
are actually preventable

because we're causing them.

It's extremely frustrating
that unfortunately

some of the parties
are reneging on their promises

to be able to get
the line out of the water.

So I'm absolutely worried about
extinction for these animals.

And I'm not only worried about
extinction in the future,

but I'm worried
about extinction

in the next few decades.

Um... I don't want these
whales... [voice breaking]

Sorry. Um...

[whimpers] Sorry.

Um, I don't want these whales
to go extinct on our watch.

[waves crashing]

[somber music]

[Patrick] We're here tonight
to review Maine's draft plan.

So back in June,
we were looking at

proposals that included
a recommendation

of a 50% reduction
in vertical lines or end lines.

Maine members of the TRT,
along with everybody else

on the TRT, voted in favor
of this 60% reduction.

But the Maine member
of the TRT also read,

into the record,
"We reserve our right

to change our mind
because we don't know

what this means
on the water."

I think everybody
was under a lot of pressure

to come up with a solution.

You had one of the heads
of NOAA fishery there

pushing to say,

"If you don't do this,
we will."

So, first piece
of the Maine plan

is a 25% reduction
in end lines

based on our calculations.

So, it is not
a 50% reduction as proposed

through
the Take Reduction Team.

If you take
all of the vertical lines...

month by month,

that's over
five million vertical lines.

We're looking at impacting

only 1.4 million
vertical lines.

We've totally changed
the denominator here.

Also, a biological opinion
is going to be written.

We're expecting that
to find

that the right whales
are in what's called Jeopardy!,

A legal term under
the Endangered Species Act.

We want
our management scenarios

to be accepted.

Let's quickly talk
about the wild card here,

which is the federal
court cases

that are ongoing.

About a month ago,
a case was filed bringing

the Maine lobster fishery
directly into a lawsuit.

And I want to highlight
a couple of quotes

from the same judge

as it pertains
to those whale lawsuits.

"Any lag between
the court's issuance

of an injunction
is precious time

for the North Atlantic
right whale,

which has been suffering

unprecedented fatalities
in the last three years,

particularly
from entanglements."

This is very concerning
to our attorneys.

It should be very concerning
to you as an industry.

This remains the wild card.

Having a court step in
and putting an injunction

on this fishery.

So with that, I'll be happy
to open it up to questions.

Say they pull the plug on us
and we don't gain

their support on this,
where do we go to that?

I can tell you this.

This is our line in the sand.

So if they don't accept this,
sure we're going to be

in a federal court
fighting this out.

[ominous music playing]

[Erika] I'm Erika Fuller,
a senior attorney

at the Conservation
Law Foundation

and the lead attorney
on our right whale efforts.

We have participated
in lawsuits

over the last 20 years

to try to protect
right whales

from entanglements
in fishing gear.

Our goal is
to put enough pressure

on the agency
to take immediate action.

We cannot allow
this right whale

to go extinct on our watch.

One of the things COF...

does is bring the pressure

that needs to be brought
on government to do its job.

We just don't have time
to study them to death.

We really need
to start getting

a long-term solution
on the water.

I expect to force
the federal government,

to force Canada,
to force the fishing industry

to step up and make
the necessary changes

to make sure that
we don't lose this right whale.

Obviously,
our work's not done.

- We have a way to go.
- [Erika] We do.

And not much time
to get there. [Chuckles]

♪

[Max] This is where
the rubber meets the road.

Welcome to the real world
of democracy.

My name is
Richard Maximus Strahan

and I'm a conservation
scientist and revolutionary.

We're trying to get a law
in the election ballot

to protect whales
from being caught

in fishing gear right
here in our state waters.

We're in the middle
of a global mass extinction.

Have you heard
of the right whale?

Yes.

So I file lawsuits,
petition the government

to protect
the endangered wildlife.

You have to fight extinction
from the ground up.

Today we are here
to build and celebrate

a 100-foot long
right whale and calf

composed from over
1000 tiles created

by involved young citizens
and their supporters.

We're using the right whale
as a symbol for the larger

humanitarian effort that we
need to address climate change.

This whale is swimming
right in the front door

of the state house.

When we sit down
with legislators,

we can say, we did this
right on your doorstep

because we need you
to care about these issues.

[man] Let's give it up
for the right whale.

All right.
Here in the State House,

our resolution is directing.

Congress to pass
the Save Whales Act

to protect and preserve
this right whale

for future generations.

- Any questions?
- No, just save the whale.

Good attitude.

[Max] So if we force
the state to force

the Endangered Species Act
on the fishing industry

will be the shot
heard round the world.

From 2003 to last year
in 2018,

the primary cause
of death was entanglement.

There are a lot of things
that are hard in the world.

Figuring out how to solve
this particular problem is not.

We can't give up now.

[Max] It's like,
if you save the right whale,

you save the ocean.

So I need ten signatures.
I have 11.

And if you could
certify these right now,

I think
the gods are on my side.

Decision 2020.

The people,
for the first time in history,

get the vote.

Whales or fishing?

Bad fishing.
You take your pick.

And if the people
sell out the whale,

then they get the extinction
that they've asked for.

If society
is not going to stop a whale

from going extinct,
I don't think

you're going to stop
much of anything else.

Last time I saw a right whale
was the middle of April.

To me, it looks
like a freight train

on the surface with a mouth,
looking down a tunnel.

Hey. Almost 3:30.

I'll see you
in a little bit.

And I am off.

My mermaid,
I rub her backside every day

before I leave
the harbor for good luck.

I don't want to see
nothing get harmed.

I'm doing all I can do now
to protect the whale.

I'm doing my part.
I know that.

I remember sittin' at the TRT
and one of the head guys

from the Fisheries Service
got up and said,

"If you don't come up
with a consensus,

we will come up
with a plan.”

You might want to come
up with a plan of your own

that might sting a little,
then being put out of business.

But we are almost
to the gear.

So we got to get ready.

Should be seeing
lobsters here.

If somebody is saying,
"Fuck this, fuck the whale.

Let it die,"
to me, I don't want to hear it.

If somebody is trying
to shut you down,

that's just
good ammunition for 'em.

And they're the first ones

that come crying
to me afterwards.

But that's just human nature.

And a lot of people are scared.

They don't know the facts
on a lot of stuff.

It takes time,
but if you're not at the table,

be prepared to be served.

There's a lot of fishermen
working hard...

with the scientists
to try to solve the problem,

to try to do
something about it.

We'll see what happens,
what the feds decide to do.

[Stormy] This
is a special place.

Cape Cod
and this body of water

are part of my family's
heritage.

It's been the backyard
of now 11 generations of us.

And into it come these
exceptionally rare animals,

these last
of the right whales.

So this is the place
to study them

where the last battle
to save them will take place.

We started doing
our disentanglement work

in 1984, and it was
the first real effort

to slow down free swimming,

entangled whales
that otherwise would die.

And it has followed
on to this day

as we've attempted
to develop methods

to free animals
from lethal entanglement.

This is an effort

to disentangle the whale
we call Ruffian.

Who had towed gear
all the way

from the Gulf of St. Lawrence
into Georgia, Florida waters.

A distance of 1,700 miles.

[man] Here we go...
Easy... easy forward go.

[Stormy]
The first part of the effort,

get a grapple across the gear.

[man] I got him.
He's in, he's in.

Back up. Back up.
Back up.

Get the bulk
buoy ready to go over.

- It's okay.
- Okay, buoy over. Buoy over.

[Stormy] And then
we're attached to the whale.

The flukes of a right whale
are up to 18 feet

across and weigh
the weight of a small car.

There are a couple
of memorable occasions

where they were very close.

And if they hit, we undoubtedly
would not have lived.

Once the whale
is on the surface,

the effort
is to use a pole

to get a hook knife
into the entangling ropes.

And there they just
succeeded in getting it.

And that hook knife
will eventually cut the gear.

- [man] One, two, three.
- [man 2] Okay, that's it.

It's a way
of remotely cutting the gear

to be more safe
than we used to be.

Joe Howlett was trained here
at the center in 2017.

Joe was dispatched
to attempt a disentanglement.

Just keep some
pressure on it.

Near the end of, uh,
that disentanglement,

he lost his life.

Joe was an exceptionally
dedicated guy

who died in the effort.

There is, on the part
of all of us

who work with right whales,

a passionate desire
to help them.

And not just because
there are whales we know,

but because they're
on the brink of extinction.

There has to be
further development

and rapid development
of new methods to fish.

Methods that do not
involve entanglement.

The answer
is really simple.

It's been there all along
and it goes far beyond

anything
the Take Reduction Team

has recently decided

and that is no rope
in the water.

That will solve the problem.

[Kevin] Typically
in this garage,

we repair boats.

It has been transformed
into a research and development

laboratory
for rope less fishing.

[Richard]
My name is Richard Riles.

I'm the executive
director and founder

to SMELT, Sea Mammal Education
Learning Technology Society.

I spent some years

studying the entanglement
problem in large whales

and saw
a lot of animal suffering.

When you walk up
to a dead animal

and you see it
entangled in gear...

we probably
want to try to figure out

how to prevent that
from happening.

He came to me with an idea

about building
a rope less fishing system,

and I told him
he was crazy.

A rope less system
that could reduce

entanglement
in large whales

and give
the fishermen a potential

to work in closed areas.

Just trying to figure out...
With fishermen...

Can we do this?

This is how
rope less fishing could work:

The lobster man shows up
to his fishing grounds,

deploys the gear

and sets a signal
to report his position.

We have
no vertical line in buoy.

The marine life
that's swimming

throughout the ocean,
in the fishing grounds,

have no chance
of being entangled.

Fishermen return
to the fishing ground,

activates his recovery system,

brings the lobster trap
to the surface,

leaves the fishing grounds.

The technology is there.

If we can afford it?
We don't know.

Can we get
enough of it built

that actually impacts
global fishing?

It's a big challenge.

There's so many animals
being entangled.

Prevention is really
the only hope we have

to end the needless suffering
of these large whales.

[Kevin]
In the Gulf of Maine alone,

there are about
3.5 million lobster traps.

And at any one time,

Hundreds of thousands
of buoy lines are in the water.

That has to change.

Ropeless is coming.

[laughs]
Whether it's now,

five years or 20 years.

You either adapt
or you get left behind.

[Francine] Thank you so much
for coming, everyone.

North Atlantic right whales
need us now more than ever.

We're losing right whales
at a shocking rate.

So we've lost at least
almost 30 animals

since 2017 alone.

And those are known deaths.

We know that
we're losing a lot more

that we never discover.

A scientific study

recently showed they're all

dying because of impacts
from humans.

[Katharine] We all have
the opportunity tonight,

here at NOAA headquarters,
to have the federal government

hear from us about
what we think should be done.

We can't afford more delay.

NOAA needs to act now.
They need to act quickly.

If strong conservation measures
and protective regulations

are not put in place now,

they will continue
to decline before extinction.

So this may be
their last chance,

um, to get them
on the road to recovery.

[Michael Asaro]
Uh, good afternoon, everyone.

Tonight is our scoping meeting
on developing modifications

to the Atlantic Large
Whale Take Reduction Plan.

This is the first
of many opportunities

for public comment

and that is a critical part
of the process.

It helps you all inform
the steps that NOAA takes

as we move
towards a proposed rule.

The goal is to get

below potential
biological removal level,

so it's less than one
per year.

And get the risk reduction
at the least economic impact.

What the Tier Two came up with
was pretty smart.

You are only talking
about a theoretical,

unscientific,
unproven methodology,

proposed by the very people
who are killing the whales

to reduce it.

So, you, therefore,

expect more dead right whales
from entanglement

over the next ten years.

Reduce does not equal
eliminate.

[woman] The Marine Mammal
Protection Act

requires us to do...

Maybe you should listen
to the Endangered Species Act,

which makes every entanglement
a violation of law.

The goal is
to wipe out the right whale.

So tonight, again,

we would like to get
input from you now.

[Rob] It's kind of sad,
watching what's going on here.

Here we are,

taking the brunt
of the punishment, again.

It's not right.

I don't know how long

we're going to be
able to take it...

but something has to change.

[scattered applause]

I'm sorry you feel like
we're blaming you.

I just want to tell you,
we're really frustrated.

We feel helpless.
We feel powerless.

We just wanted to keep
these whales alive.

And we don't think
we can do it.

We're not out there trying to
kill whales. It's pretty easy

to go up there and say, "Invoke
this rule, this minute,"

because it doesn't affect you,
it affects us.

To put it bluntly...

human actions are putting

these beautiful,
gentle giants

on a direct path
towards extinction.

That is why
we are here today.

To correct these
human errors and actions

in a meaningful way.

I urge NOAA to do right
by the right whale

and implement
stricter regulations.

[applause]

[Scott] Both sides of this
issue are being played.

There may be
no human action or inaction

that can save a population
of 400 right whales.

But there are actions
that could be taken

to devastate
the local economies entwined

within the lobstering
and fishing communities.

NOAA is the fox
guarding the chicken coop.

It's owned by fishermen.

It's run by fishermen
under statute.

And this beautiful,
beautiful opposition

that they demonstrate here
is just part of the scam.

You're all going to be
replaced by green fishermen,

who will not use
vertical buoy ropes

and will actually care
about the environment.

[Michael Asaro]
It's time to go, Max.

It's time to go.
It's time to go.

I know,
it's time for you to go, sir.

Because you're going to be
fired for being a liar

and a person who works
to kill off the right whale.

[somber music]

♪

♪

[Clay] We're about ten miles
from the Georgia-Florida line.

We're smack dab
in the middle

of the North Atlantic
right whale calving grounds.

It's a big area,

so we really depend
on aerial survey

to find the whales.

[Melanie]
This is the only place

that right whales
are known to go

to give birth
to their live young.

Being that
they are so endangered,

we're trying to protect them
as much as we can.

Going back to the 2000s,

we were seeing
about two dozen calves

per year on average.

Since 2010,

that number
has dropped in half.

And two years ago,
in fact,

we didn't even see
a single calf.

That's the first time
that it had ever happened.

[Melanie] The Coast Guard
reported an Alpha.

[Clay]
We can't make more calves,

but we could certainly
stop killing whales.

That's just got to happen,

or this species
might not stand a chance.

It's a monumental challenge
that we are currently facing,

and it requires everybody.

Our state partners,
the fishing industry,

environmental groups...

We need to all
come to the table

and play a part in the recovery
of this iconic species.

[coast guard speaking
indistinctly over radio]

Hey, just want to
give you a heads-up.

We got
a mother-calf pair.

[coast guard]
Good copy. Go for it.

The National Fisheries Service
has to balance

these two objectives
that it has

of sustaining the fisheries
and protecting species.

At the moment, that balance
is just going away.

[man on radio]
Three, two, one. Perfect.

It's always a challenge
to look to dual mandates

of conserving
protected species

and ensuring thriving,
sustainable fisheries.

We look for solutions
that make meaningful progress

towards recovering
right whales,

while also ensuring

that our fisheries
remain very profitable.

♪

We're still looking, at least
in a couple of years before

something really starts
changing on the water.

And that's really slow

the way these animals
are disappearing at the moment.

I would reject the idea
that we're too slow.

We are working
within the process.

And in order to have
effective, meaningful,

long lasting measures
that are in place,

we need the collaboration
among all of the stakeholders.

If the agency
is going to be serious

about saving
North Atlantic right whales,

then the action that
they're going to have to take

is going to be
more draconian

than what's been
considered so far.

And that's hard.

But that's
where we are now.

North Atlantic right whales
are paying a price for this.

At some point,
we have to turn this around.

♪

♪

[chanting in Indigenous
language]

♪

♪

♪