The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world’s most endangered large whale species, with only an estimated 400 remaining.

(NOAA Fisheries)

At a Glance

Nine attorneys general joined a lawsuit to block offshore seismic airgun testing.The testing is used to locate oil and natural gas deposits on the ocean floor.The tests could harm over 300,000 marine mammals, including the North Atlantic right whale.The attorneys general for Florida and South Carolina did not join the lawsuit.

Nine attorneys general from Maine to North Carolina have joined a lawsuit aimed at stopping seismic testing off the East Coast that could harm marine mammals and lead to more offshore oil drilling.

The attorneys general for Florida and South Carolina, two states that also have opposed offshore drilling, did not join the coalition.

New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced Thursday that "to stop the proposed use of airguns to survey the Atlantic Ocean floor for oil and gas. These 'seismic testing' surveys will expose whales, dolphins and porpoises to repeated sound blasts louder than 160 decibels, threatening the health and continued existence of hundreds of thousands of highly sensitive marine mammals, including multiple endangered or threatened species."

The federal lawsuit was filed on Dec. 11 by and eight other environmental groups against the National Marine Fisheries Service and federal officials, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

The state officials joining the lawsuit represent Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh , “While the [Trump] administration continues to place the interests of the fossil fuel industry ahead of our precious natural resources, attorneys general up and down the Atlantic coast will continue to fight these and other efforts to open waters off our shores to drilling for oil and gas.”

In November, the National Marine Fisheries Service wanting to look for oil and natural gas deposits on the Atlantic Ocean floor. The authorizations allow the companies to "harass members of numerous marine mammal species."

The testing would be conducted from Cape May, New Jersey, to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

To conduct the surveys, vessels tow arrays of seismic airguns that fire loud blasts of compressed air through the ocean and miles under the seafloor according to a statement from Frosh's office. The blasting can cause disruptions in migration, feeding and reproduction of marine mammals, fish and other marine creatures on the ocean floor.

The attorneys general said NMFS expects the seismic testing will result in more than 373,000 instances of marine mammal harassment, corresponding to well over 300,000 marine mammals — including the .

A North Atlantic right whale mother and calf, sighted June 8, 2014, during an aerial survey by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

(NOAA Fisheries/Christin Khan, NEFSC)

The complaint by the attorneys general the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedure Act.

Another big worry of the attorneys general, who are all Democrats, is that the testing is the precursor to the Trump administration allowing offshore oil drilling off their states.

The attorney general in Underwood, New York, , "We don’t need the next Deepwater Horizon off of New York’s shores. We’ll fight in court to make sure it never happens."

The BP in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the nation’s worst offshore oil spill.

(MORE: Dispersants Used in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Were Ineffective and Toxic, Study Finds)

This January, the on nearly the entire U.S. outer continental shelf.

Governors, members of Congress and other officials from states along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts have been steadfast in their opposition to offshore drilling.

Florida was one of the states most heavily impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oilspill. It also is a key breeding ground for the North Atlantic right whale.

In November, nearly 70 percent of the state's voters in the state constitution. And Florida is the only state that appeared to have an exemption from the expansion of offshore drilling.

In January, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said at a news conference with Gov. Rick Scott, "Florida is obviously unique. For Floridians, we are not drilling off the coast of Florida, and clearly the governor has expressed that it's important."

However, as the Tampa Bay Times reports, of Zinke's position. And Zinke's promise is even more doubtful now that .

Though, as the Florida Phoenix reports, is notably absent from the lawsuit. The website said Bondi’s office did not return a request for comment.

Bondi's term in office ends on Jan. 8 when Ashley Moody, a Republican like Bondi, is sworn in.

(WATCH: Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico Could Be Bigger Than Deepwater Horizon)

South Carolina’s Attorney General , according to the Charleston Post and Courier.

“Our office has been working with the governor’s office to address concerns regarding offshore seismic testing and we are currently reviewing all options available to us to include possibly bringing our own lawsuit,” Wilson's spokesman Robert Kittle told the newspaper.

The Post and Courier said South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s office issued a statement saying he was still prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration to prevent exploration off the state's coast.

“The governor’s position hasn’t changed,” spokesman Brian Symmes said. “While he shares a common goal with those who have decided to sign onto this lawsuit, he views such action as a last resort and will continue to work with the administration to ensure that we will never see seismic testing or drilling off of South Carolina’s coast.”

If the lawsuit is unsuccessful, the five companies need only geological permits from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to proceed.

The environmental groups listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Carolina Coast Federation, Ocean, One Hundred Miles, the Sierra Club and the Surfrider Foundation.