Make it Right

New rules to better protect right whales could hurt vessel operators.

By Betsy Frawley Haggerty, Correspondent

North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction with fewer than 350 individuals and fewer than 100 reproductively active females remaining, according to NOAA Fisheries. At 55' and up to 70 tons, these blubbery behemoths are among the largest animals in the world, yet they are dying off — victims of climate impacts, prey, vessel strikes and entanglements.

Everyone agrees that these endangered whales need to be protected, but they do not agree on how that should be done. In August, NOAA Fisheries published proposed new rules that are so restrictive that many passenger vessel operators wonder how they can keep their businesses running.

Indeed, one operator serving Cape

Cod says that under the proposed rules, 50% or more of the pro ts his company made in its last pre-Covid season will be at risk — to say nothing of the impacts on tourism.

First some background: In 2008 NOAA established rules to protect the whales by creating Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs) along the whales’ migratory route and calving grounds. SMAs are located in select coastal areas from Florida to Massachusetts. Seasons typically extended from fall until spring when the whales moved north to the Gulf of Maine, the Bay of Fundy or the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Vessels 65' or longer are required to travel at 10 knots or less in these areas. In addition, NOAA also established temporary Dynamic Management Areas (DMAs) in locations where three or more whales are observed. The agency will alert mariners to latitude and longitude boundaries of DMAs and requests that all vessels operate at speeds less than 10 knots for a period of 10 days to two weeks. The rules have helped, and vessel strikes decreased, but there were still too many, according to NOAA.

New Rules

After extensive study, NOAA Fisheries proposed new rules intended to better protect the North Atlantic right whale population. These include:

� Greatly expanding the geographic area of SMAs, and, in some cases, extending the time the speed limits will be in effect.

� Adding mandatory 10-knot speed limits in management areas to vessels 35' and longer, a change from the current 65' regulation. According to NOAA, vessels less than 65' accounted for ve of the 12 documented lethal vessel strikes since the rst speed rule went into effect in 2008. (In late January, NOAA denied a petition brought by environmentalists to to immediately implement the proposed 10-knot rule for vessel 35' and up.)

� Creating a new mandatory Dynamic Speed Zone Program establishing temporary 10-knot transit zones when right whales are detected outside of designated Seasonal Speed Zones.

� Updating safety precautions.

NOAA received more than 21,000 public comments between August and Oct. 31. Comments ranged from full support of the proposed rules to thoughtful explanations of why negative economic impacts outweighed any potential positive gain. A NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman told WorkBoat that the agency was currently reviewing the comments and “anticipated taking nal action on the proposed rule in 2023.” She offered no additional information.

The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) submitted comments that re ect its members’ concerns. In an 11-page carefully worded document, PVA essentially told NOAA that the proposed speed restrictions are overkill that will