- Conservation Groups Condemn NOAA’s Decision to Abandon Whale Safeguards.
- Critically Endangered Right Whales Left Vulnerable by Rule Withdrawal.
- Proposed Vessel Speed Limits Scrapped Despite Public Support.
NOAA Fisheries decided this week to pull back on a proposed rule to strengthen the protection of North Atlantic right whales from vessel strikes. Conservation groups were sharply critical of the move, labelling the decision inexcusable and saying that the agency is allowing political pressures to outweigh scientific evidence, reports Oceanographic.
Proposed Rule Dropped Due to Time Constraints
The withdrawn proposal was first made in August 2022 and proposed stricter limits on vessel speeds, expanded protected zones, and covered smaller vessels. Despite this proposal receiving over 90,000 public comments in support of the measures, NOAA Fisheries claimed it did not have enough time to finalize the regulation under the current administration. Conservation groups have blasted the decision, with some labelling the agency for adopting inaction to run down the clock.
Deadly Consequences for Endangered Right Whales
Since 2020, at least 16 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales have been killed or injured by vessel strikes, with four fatalities recorded in 2024 alone. The population has dwindled to just 370 individuals, including fewer than 70 reproductively active females.
“Accidental entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes are listed as primary threats to North Atlantic right whales,” said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation. “But their actual greatest threat is political inaction, and that is what will drive them to extinction.”
Existing Regulations Do Not Provide Necessary Protections
The current speed regulations require that vessels 65 feet or longer reduce their speed to 10 knots in specified areas along the US East Coast during certain times of the year. However, these regulations do not apply to government, law enforcement, or certain foreign vessels. Studies have indicated that vessels moving at 10 knots or less are much less likely to cause damage to whales in collision events.
“The gross inaction and delays by this administration over the past four years to release this rule is inexcusable,” said Erica Fuller, senior counsel at Conservation Law Foundation. “We exhausted every avenue available to us to move this forward as the right whale body count from vessel strikes continued to grow.”
A History of Unmet Petitions and Emergency Requests
The proposed rule was a response to petitions filed as far back as 2012 by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Emergency petitions submitted in 2022 and 2023, which called for immediate protective measures in the whales’ only known calving area, were also denied. NOAA Fisheries cited resource limitations as the reason for these denials.
“NOAA Fisheries has kept the right whale waiting for improved vessel strike protection for years,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. “In attempting to make everyone happy, the agency turned years of delay into an outright denial of the needs of a critically endangered species.”
North Atlantic Right Whales at a Crossroads
The sharp population decline of North Atlantic right whales began around 2010, driven in part by habitat shifts caused by climate change. These shifts have brought the whales into areas without sufficient protection, leaving them vulnerable to vessel strikes and entanglements.
“The agency has a mandate to protect the right whale but ran out the clock, leaving the whale with an out-of-date rule that we know is not enough,” Davenport added. With only around 370 individuals remaining, conservationists fear that continued delays and political inaction could spell extinction for the species.
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Source: Oceanographic
