I was honored to join with so many partners in the effort to save the North Atlantic Right Whale today at the New England Aquarium for a celebration of "Right Whale Day" in Massachusetts.  Following an intensive campaign, Right Whale Day was established by legislation that became law on January 4, 2023. The day gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this endangered species, and our special obligation to protect and support these incredible creatures, with as much as 75% of them being in Massachusetts waters in the winter and spring.

Beyond adopting the North Atlantic Right Whale as the official Marine Mammal of our Commonwealth, our state has taken several important steps toward meeting our responsibility for their stewardship, including measures I have secured over the past several years to provide funding for the Environmental Police to conduct specialized patrols to protect the whales when they are in our area ,and  to provide grants to participants in the lobster fishery to purchase innovative gear to prevent whale entanglements. Most recently, on November 20, 2024, Governor Healey signed into law legislation I filed to give the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Environmental Police the clear authority to remove abandoned fishing gear from our waters, helping to eliminate a major threat for whale entanglement. Thanks to Senators Montigny, Lovely, and O'Connor for co-sponsoring that legislation, and all of my colleagues in the House and Senate for supporting it.

One way you can help the effort is to get a Massachusetts Right Whale & Roseate Terns Conservation License Plate. To learn how to get this plate please go here: https://www.mass.gov/.../massachusetts-right-whale...

Thanks to all of the public officials, state and federal agencies, organizations, and individuals who continue to work together for the goal of  increasing the population of Northern Right Whales, including those who earn a living from commercial lobster fishing, who make a tremendous sacrifice by not fishing for several months each year when right whales are most likely to be in our coastal waters.