【VOA慢速】组织要求紧急制定保护鲸鱼免受船只伤害的法规
An alliance of environmental groups is calling for new federal rules to protect an endangered whale from crashes with ships.
一个环保组织联盟呼吁制定新的联邦法规，以保护濒临灭绝的鲸鱼免受船只撞击。
The groups presented their demands in a document, called a petition, provided to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on September 28.
这些团体在9月28日提交给美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）的一份名为请愿书的文件中提出了他们的要求。
The action aims to protect the North Atlantic right whale, which has long been considered endangered.
这一行动旨在保护长期以来被认为濒临灭绝的北大西洋露脊鲸。
The population of these extremely large sea animals has decreased sharply in recent years.
近年来，这些巨型海洋动物的数量急剧减少。
Just 340 are believed to be alive today.
据说如今只有340头存活。
Officials at NOAA have said ship collisions are among the most serious threats to the survival of the whale.
美国国家海洋和大气管理局的官员表示，船只撞击是这种鲸鱼生存面临的最严重威胁之一。
One rule the environmental groups are calling for would seek to prevent ship strikes by making more ships slow down for whales.
环保组织呼吁的一项法规是，通过让更多船只为鲸鱼放慢船速来防止船只撞击。
NOAA has yet to release a final updated speed rule although it proposed new rules more than a year ago, the groups said.
这些组织表示，尽管NOAA在一年多前就提出了新法规，但它尚未公布最终更新的速度法规。
Environmentalists have appealed for urgency in enacting the measure.
环保人士呼吁紧急颁布这项措施。
They say it is important to approve new rules before the upcoming birthing season.
他们说，在即将到来的鲸鱼生育季之前批准新规很重要。
At that time of year, the whales migrate hundreds of miles from waters off New England and Canada to areas off the coasts of Florida and Georgia.
在每年的这个时候，这种鲸鱼从新英格兰和加拿大附近的水域迁徙到数百英里外的佛罗里达和佐治亚州海岸附近的地区。
"Even one ship strike would bring these whales closer to extinction, but speed limits can help prevent that," said Kristen Monsell.
克里斯汀·蒙塞尔说：“即使是一次船只撞击也会使这些鲸鱼更濒临灭绝，但限速可以帮助防止这种情况的发生。”
She is a legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that prepared the petition to NOAA.
她是生物多样性中心的法务总监，该组织是向NOAA提交请愿书的组织之一。
"Federal officials can't sit back and do nothing while right whales are in danger," Monsell told The Associated Press.
蒙塞尔告诉美联社：“露脊鲸处于危险之中，联邦官员不能袖手旁观。”
Katie Wagner is a spokesperson for NOAA.
凯蒂·瓦格纳是NOAA的发言人。
She said she expects the agency to announce its final action on the proposed rule sometime this year.
她说，她预计该机构将在今年某个时候宣布对拟议规则的最终行动。
That means the rule could be publicized during the middle of calving season and may not be put into effect until even later.
这意味着该法规可能会在产犊季节中期公布，甚至可能要到更晚的时候才会生效。
Wagner said NOAA knows about the petition but has a policy not to comment on legal matters.
瓦格纳说，NOAA知道这份请愿书，但它有不对法律事务发表评论的一项政策。
The agency is considering expanding "slow zones" off the U.S. East Coast, and also requiring more ships to obey those rules.
该机构正在考虑扩大美国东海岸的“慢速区”，并要求更多的船只遵守这些法规。
NOAA denied a request from environmentalists last year to immediately put new rules in place.
NOAA去年拒绝了环保主义者要求立即实施新规的要求。
At the time, the agency said in public documents that it was considering "long-term, substantive" measures to reduce whale strikes by ships.
当时，该机构在公开文件中表示，它正在考虑采取“长期实质性”措施，以减少船只撞击鲸鱼。
Wagner said NOAA received more than 90,000 comments on the proposed rule and would use those to decide on its final action.
瓦格纳说，NOAA收到了9万多条关于拟议规则的评论，并将根据这些评论来决定最终行动。
Right whales were once common off the U.S. East Coast.
露脊鲸曾经在美国东海岸很常见。
But the animals fell in numbers after years of heavy hunting activities.
但经过多年的大量狩猎活动，这些动物的数量有所下降。
The whales have long been protected under the Endangered Species Act.
长期以来，这种鲸鱼一直受到《濒危物种法》的保护。
Right whales are also at risk of becoming accidentally entangled in fishing equipment.
露脊鲸也有被捕鱼设备意外缠住的危险。
Proposed restrictions to prevent such entanglements have been the subject of a legal case between the federal government and fishermen.
为防止此类缠绕事件而提出的限制措施一直是联邦政府和渔民之间法律案件的主题。
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