NOAA Withdraws Proposed Speed Rule for East Coast Whale Protection
After two years of review, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has decided to drop a proposed speed-limit rule intended to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from ship strikes. The rule was opposed by East Coast seaports, which viewed the speed limits as a threat to commerce and a potential safety risk.
"Vessel speed restrictions, no matter how well intentioned, severely diminish the flow of commerce through our nation's gateways while also making the already difficult jobs of harbor pilots and mariners more dangerous," said Cary S. Davis, AAPA President and CEO. "America's ports thank the federal government for making the right decision to withdraw the NARW Vessel Speed Restriction rule and look forward to supporting precision technology to preserve and protect marine life."
In a brief statement Wednesday, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service said that it was withdrawing the proposed rule "in light of numerous and ongoing requests from the public for further opportunity to review and engage with the agency." The NMFS received 90,000 comments on the proposal over two years, and it said that it did not have time to properly review all of them before the change in administration on Monday. The agency reserved the right to reissue similar proposals in the future.
For now, existing NOAA speed regulations remain in effect. NOAA currently has a 10-knot vessel speed limit for vessels over 65 feet long in two seasonal management areas, one in the northeast and another in the southeast. The rules are aimed solely at the right whale, and West Coast ports are covered by voluntary measures only. For all vessels under 65 feet - including many small workboats like CTVs and pilot boats - NOAA's East Coast speed rules do not currently apply. The withdrawal of the proposed rule allows these smaller vessels to continue to operate without restrictions.
In 2022, after finding that small vessel strikes could also be lethal, NOAA issued a proposal that would have covered smaller vessels down to 35 feet in length. Among other impacts, this would have had commercial implications for the U.S. offshore wind industry, which relies on small, speedy and economical dayboats for maintenance. Lacking overnight accommodations, these boats need to make 20 knots or more in order to get to an offshore wind farm and back within the span of a single working day. Ferries for Martha's Vineyard would also have been forced to slow down because of the regional expansion contained in the rule.
In addition to covering small vessels, the proposed rule would have expanded the boundaries and extended the timing of seasonal speed zones; introduced mandatory temporary speed zones whenever right whales were spotted; and changed the protocol for allowing higher speeds when needed for safety of navigation.
Environmental advocates panned NOAA's decision to withdraw these proposed changes. Less than 360 North Atlantic right whales remain; this includes fewer than 70 breeding females, all of which may be deceased by 2035 at the current rate of decline. To reverse the trend, the slow-growing species can only lose one individual to human activity per year, a fraction of the current mortality rate. Studies have found that the speed of a ship is a major factor in ship-related collisions with North Atlantic right whales, and that slowing ship speeds to less than 10 knots in areas where these whales may be encountered can reduce the risk of collisions by 86 percent.
"While we waited over two years for a decision on the vessel strike reduction rule, our East Coast has become a graveyard for North Atlantic right whales," said Oceana campaigner Gib Brogan in a statement. "The Trump administration must find a solution that keeps fisheries on the water, sustains the marine economy, and supports the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale."