NOAA Fisheries is providing $6 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The funding will support projects developing technologies to minimize risk from vessel strikes—a primary threat to endangered North Atlantic right whales and other large whales.

The partnership will facilitate innovative, technology-based tools, and increase the use and awareness of existing technologies to reduce vessel strikes to the North Atlantic right whale. These could include tools that detect and identify whales and alert vessels when a whale is present and recommend actions.

“NOAA Fisheries is proud to partner with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support grants to develop innovative technologies to reduce vessel strikes,” said Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “They are a crucial partner in the conservation of North Atlantic right whales.”

This project is part of a broader partnership between NOAA Fisheries and the Foundation. It directly supports the North Atlantic Right Whale Road to Recovery, the agency’s comprehensive plan to recover the species. It also builds on and will further the goals and objectives of the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Risk Reduction Technology Workshop.