Free Republic

Whales, as the largest mammals on Earth, have long been an important resource for human societies, whether it be for food, oil, or other materials. According to a report by Popular Science, hunter-gatherers in present-day Spain and France have been crafting essential tools from whale bones for much longer than previously thought. A new study analyzed 83 bone tools found at sites along the Bay of Biscay and 90 additional bones from the Santa Catalina cave in Spain. The investigation relied on mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating to determine that humans living in the region have been making whale-bone tools,...

Big government overreach knows no bounds. The latest example of federal regulation that will threaten thousands of jobs and livelihoods of hardworking Americas comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The NOAA says that Maine's lobster industry is to blame for the killing of right whales, an endangered species, and has enacted regulations set to take place this September which will harm the already struggling industry. Yet, the evidence says that the proposed regulation will in no way actually help the whales and will instead only burden lobstermen.As reported by the Portland Herald Press, NOAA "has ordered Maine to...

BOSTON — A record number of North Atlantic right whales have been spotted off Massachusetts, prompting state officials to warn boaters to stay clear of the endangered animals. An aerial survey of Cape Cod Bay and surrounding waters on Tuesday identified 101 individual right whales, the most ever spotted in a single day. The previous high came last April when 70 of the whales were spotted during a single aerial survey.

Scientists have discovered that a pod of North Atlantic right whales -- possibly an offshoot of Canada's critically endangered population -- has returned to waters off southern Greenland after 200 years, raising new hopes for the species but also concerns about a coming clash between nature and commerce at the doorstep of the unlocked Northwest Passage. Only about 400 individual right whales are known to migrate annually along the Atlantic coast between Nova Scotia and Florida, a tiny remnant of a once-robust species that was hunted almost to extinction by the early 20th century. They were named for being...

North Pacific right whales could be the victims of planned gas drilling in the Bering Sea.Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/NOAA The rising tide of global fossil-fuel prices is set to heighten the conflict between the US oil and gas industry and the interests of migratory whales, after two federal announcements both laid claim to the same piece of the chilly Bering Sea. The contested region, part of Bristol Bay off the Alaskan coast, is one of the regions that has become more appealing for oil and gas drillers in recent years despite its inhospitable location. But conservationists warn that...