Why we’re knocking on doors to save right whales

If you live in New England this summer, don’t be surprised to get a knock on your door and see a canvasser, clad in a blue t-shirt, asking for your help to save the whales.

That’s right: this summer, our New England field office is working to save critically endangered right whales. These gentle giants live right off our coast, and spend their summers feeding in the nutrient-rich waters of New England and Canada. Once hunted to near-extinction, right whales are again fighting for their species’ survival as fatal boat strikes and fishing gear entanglements kill them at an unsustainable rate.

The good news is there is something we can do, right now: we can slow down boats where these whales spend time. The Biden administration is considering a plan to do just that

To implement this common-sense solution, we’ll need to overcome opposition from shipping and boating industry players that don’t want to see this plan come into effect. That’s why we’re going door-to-door to gather support from thousands of New Englanders who want to save our whales.

A glimpse of our Amherst field office getting ready to knock on doors to save right whales.Photo by TPIN Staff | TPIN

We can’t know what the ocean would have looked like hundreds of years ago, when as many as 10,000 right whales roamed our coastal waters. But with your support, we can hopefully ensure that, in the coming decades, the sight of a right whale breaching in the surf isn’t as rare–just amazing.