NOAA has proposed a rule that would modify the speed regulations:
Overview of the Deregulatory Action
- The Rule in Question: The current Vessel Strike Reduction Rule dictates that vessels 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots or less in designated Seasonal Management Areas along the U.S. East Coast to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
- The Proposed Change: NOAA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) explores relaxing or altering these mandatory speed limits by leveraging new, unproven technologies and real-time tracking.
- Timeline: The public comment period on the ANPRM is open through June 2, 2026.
Why Conservationists Are Concerned
- Extinction Threat: With only about 380 North Atlantic right whales remaining, vessel strikes are one of the leading human-caused threats to the species’ survival.
- Unproven Alternatives: Environmental groups and scientists argue that substituting legally mandated speed restrictions with nascent, unproven technologies (like AI-based detection systems or sonar) is a dangerous gamble.
- Proven Efficacy: Studies have long demonstrated that slowing big vessels down to 10 knots is the only guaranteed, highly effective method to prevent deadly collisions.
Obviously, this is another poor idea. To comment: