There’s a new call to protect marine mammals.

Rep. Frank Pallone is demanding stricter federal enforcement of speed rules for large boats off the coast of the shore and Bayshore.

Since 2017, vessel strikes and entanglements have caused almost 80% of deaths and injuries of the endangered North Atlantic right whale, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

$82 million in federal funding was allocated in 2023 to protect the North American right whale.

“Time and time again we see what happens when speeding boats and right whales collide,” says John Weber, senior field representative of Oceana. “If NOAA wants to save this species from extinction, ships must slow down when these whales are present, and speeding boats must be held accountable.”