Date: 01/09/2024
Type: Implementation of IRA
On January 9, 2024, NOAA announced a partnership with the Center for Enterprise Modernization to support the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The $9.9 million contract is funded by IRA section 40001. The collaboration will develop whale detection, vessel strike avoidance, and on-demand or ropeless fishing gear technologies. North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction with approximately 360 individuals remaining, including fewer than 70 reproductively active females. Primary threats to the species are entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes, and climate change.