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The Endangered Species Act, which was implemented in 1973, has saved many whale species. Survival of the right whale is a testament to the act's importance.

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The drive to protect vanishing whales has brought profound impacts to marine industries and those changes are accelerating as the Endangered Species Act approaches its 50th anniversary. Maritime industries, some of the oldest in the U.S., are subject to a host of restrictions designed to protect rare whales such as the North Atlantic right whale. Those restrictions, which limit how fast vessels can travel and how commercial fishermen can fish, are set to expand in the coming years. The act also is motivating new innovations, such as ropeless fishing, to help avoid harm to the animals.

On a breezy spring day, scientists and conservationists methodically conducted experiments near 15 North Atlantic right whales that occasionally spouted and surfaced in a bay south of Boston.

The drive to protect vanishing whales has brought profound impacts to marine industries and those changes are accelerating as the Endangered Species Act approaches its 50th anniversary.