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Article: Give right of way to the right whale.(Local)(Editorial)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- August 21, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The right whale is a marine giant, 50 feet long and 70 tons. Despite that size, though, it's about as endangered as species get - experts estimate there are 300 of the creatures left, the result of 19th century overhunting from which the species hasn't recovered.
Now that America has stopped whaling, the biggest threat to the mammal are the ships that come in and out of U.S. ports, including ours. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, dozens of the whales have been hit by ships in the past few decades.
The fisheries service has recommended new regulations that would require cargo ships entering or leaving the Chesapeake Bay to slow to 10 knots within 30 ...