Protect the endangered Gulf of Mexico Rice’s whale from extinction

Continued oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico represents a clear, existential threat to the whale’s survival and recovery. The Trump administration wants to turn over these public waters to further enrich the fossil fuel industry, which will push the whales toward extinction. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster alone wiped out nearly 20% of the Gulf of Mexico Rice’s whale population.

With the population on the brink, even day-to-day oil and gas operations harm the whale’s habitat — including the continuous stream of drilling supply and support vessels transiting their waters. Since Gulf of Mexico whales spend a lot of time hanging out within 50 feet of the water’s surface, they are especially at risk from ship strikes. The whales are persistently found in a rainbow-shaped band that stretches from Florida across the northern Gulf all the way through Texas in waters 100-400 meters deep — underscoring the urgent need for wider protections from vessels.

Seismic air gun surveys dominate the sound environment across the northern Gulf as fossil fuel companies search for oil and gas deposits beneath the ocean. These deafening blasts mask vital whale calls that marine mammals depend on to communicate, navigate, and find food over large ocean areas. Rice’s whales need immediate protection from oil exploration and drilling operations, including an immediate slow-down of oil-and-gas-related vessel traffic through their habitat if we’re going to have any chance of saving them in the years ahead.

Gulf Rice’s whales can recover as long as conditions improve, but that all depends on our actions. Only a permanent transition away from dirty oil and to a clean energy future will give these whales the fighting chance they need.