Good news for boaters along the East Coast of the United States: NOAA Fisheries is officially withdrawing its proposed North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule. The rule would have imposed 10-knot speed limits on recreational vessels greater than 35 feet in length from northern Florida to the Northeast for up to seven months of the year. According to the withdrawal notice, approximately 90,000 public comments were submitted on the proposal, which was introduced on August 1, 2022, as an amendment to the current right whale vessel speed reduction rule.
According to the NOAA announcement, “The comments received addressed many different aspects of the rule and reflected views on all sides of the issues addressed. Despite its best efforts, NMFS does not have sufficient time to finalize this regulation in this Administration due to the scope and volume of public comments.”
According to NOAA, there have been 12 lethal right whale vessel strikes since 2008. Of those, five of the vessels have measured less than 65 feet in length. NOAA claims the total right whale population is about 350 with around 100 of those being female, adding that while a population increase occurred between 1990 to 2010, there has been a reproductive decline over the past decade, noting that entanglement in fishing gear has also added to population decline. According to the American Sportfishing Association, the odds of a vessel from 35 feet to 65 feet striking a right whale are less than one in a million.
Withdrawal of the rule does not preclude NOAA Fisheries from future action on the issue of protecting endangered right whales from vessel strikes, and existing speed regulations will remain in effect.
