双语新闻：环保组织联盟要求，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. The population of these extremely large sea animals has decreased sharply in recent years. Just 340 are believed to be alive today.

这一行动旨在保护北大西洋露脊鲸，这种鲸长期以来一直被认为是濒危物种。近年来，这些巨型海洋动物的数量急剧减少。据信目前只有340人还活着。

Officials at NOAA have said ship collisions are among the most serious threats to the survival of the whale. One rule the environmental groups are calling for would seek to prevent ship strikes by making more ships slow down for whales. NOAA has yet to release a final updated speed rule although it proposed new rules more than a year ago, the groups said.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局的官员表示，船只碰撞是对鲸鱼生存的最严重威胁之一。环保组织呼吁的一项规定是，通过让更多的船只减速捕鲸来防止船只罢工。这些组织表示，尽管NOAA在一年多前提出了新规则，但它尚未发布最终更新的速度规则。

Environmentalists have appealed for urgency in enacting the measure. They say it is important to approve new rules before the upcoming birthing season. 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.

环保人士呼吁尽快颁布这项措施。他们说，在即将到来的生育季节之前通过新规定是很重要的。每年的这个时候，鲸鱼从新英格兰和加拿大海域迁徙数百英里，来到佛罗里达和乔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. She is a legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that prepared the petition to NOAA. "Federal officials can't sit back and do nothing while right whales are in danger," Monsell told The Associated Press.

“即使是一次船只撞击也会使这些鲸鱼更接近灭绝，但速度限制可以帮助防止这种情况，”克里斯汀·蒙塞尔说。她是生物多样性中心的法律主管，该中心是向NOAA提交请愿书的组织之一。蒙塞尔对美联社说:“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. She said she expects the agency to announce its final action on the proposed rule sometime this year. That means the rule could be publicized during the middle of calving season and may not be put into effect until even later.

凯蒂·瓦格纳是NOAA的发言人。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。这意味着该规定可能会在产犊季节中期公布，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. The agency is considering expanding "slow zones" off the U.S. East Coast, and also requiring more ships to obey those rules.

瓦格纳说，美国国家海洋和大气管理局知道请愿书，但有政策不对法律事务发表评论。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规定。

NOAA denied a request from environmentalists last year to immediately put new rules in place. At the time, the agency said in public documents that it was considering "long-term, substantive" measures to reduce whale strikes by ships. Wagner said NOAA received more than 90,000 comments on the proposed rule and would use those to decide on its final action.

去年，美国国家海洋和大气管理局拒绝了环保人士要求立即实施新规定的请求。当时，该机构在公开文件中表示，它正在考虑采取“长期的、实质性的”措施来减少船只撞鲸。瓦格纳说，美国国家海洋和大气管理局收到了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. But the animals fell in numbers after years of heavy hunting activities. The whales have long been protected under the Endangered Species Act.

露脊鲸曾经在美国东海岸很常见。但是经过多年的大量狩猎活动，这种动物的数量下降了。长期以来，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. Proposed restrictions to prevent such entanglements have been the subject of a legal case between the federal government and fishermen.

露脊鲸也有被渔具意外缠住的危险。为防止此类缠结而提出的限制措施，一直是联邦政府和渔民之间一起法律案件的主题。