The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced the dates of five virtual workshops between October 18, 2021, and November 18, 2021, for experts to weigh in on recovery planning for Rice’s whale, a protected species of baleen whale in the Gulf of Mexico that NFMS recognized as its own species on August 23, 2021. The Endangered Species Act directs NMFS to develop and implement recovery plans for the conservation and survival of federally listed species, recovery being defined as effective conservation that brings a species back to the point that it no longer needs or qualifies for ESA listing status. Each of the five workshops will focus on a different aspect of the recovery plan and all are open to the public.
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