No speed limits: Feds drop rule meant to slow boats around right whales

Adam Van Brimmer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jan 15, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A stricter speed limit isn’t coming to the waters of the North Atlantic right whale calving grounds off the Georgia coast after all.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, on Wednesday withdrew a proposed vessel speed rule meant to protect the endangered whales, which swim near the ocean’s surface and are susceptible to fatal boat strikes.

The first pregnant females arrived in November and will remain in the relatively warm local waters with their calves until March, when they begin the long swim north to New England and Canadian waters. Scientists estimate about 370 right whales remain in existence, with about 25 born each year.

Federal officials had been considering the speed limit for two years. Their hesitation was due in part to protests from commercial fishermen and maritime shippers concerned that the rule would harm their economic interests.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, also opposed restricting speeds. Carter, who represents a district that stretches the length of Georgia’s coast, held a congressional committee hearing on the speed rule last summer and introduced legislation to halt its implementation.

Still, White House officials had signaled last fall their expectation that the rule would go into effect ahead of the start of the current calving season. But that was before the November presidential election, won by Republican challenger Donald Trump. Several of the president-elect’s advisers are critics of NOAA and have advocated for breaking up the federal agency.

Wednesday’s withdrawal of the proposed speed rule drew a sharp rebuke from environmentalists, such as Gil Brogan with Oceana, an ocean conservation group.

Right whales “don’t deserve to die because of political incompetence and a blatant disregard for science-backed solutions,” Brogan said. “We hate to state the obvious but, we need a solution, and we need it now. It’s our sincere hope that the new administration does not want the first large whale to go extinct in centuries in U.S. waters because of federal red tape.”

The decision drew a different reaction from those who make their living on the water. The proposed rule called for an expansion of a speed limit already in place for large vessels, such as freighters and cargo ships, and would have affected one seafaring entity in particular: the harbor pilots who play a crucial role in port operations, guiding ships into marine terminals in Savannah, Brunswick and elsewhere along the southeast U.S. coast.

Harbor pilots taxi to and from the ships offshore, where water conditions can get rough, particularly in the winter months when right whales are calving. Pilots say speed is vital for the nimble, aluminum pilot boats to counter rolling swells and choppy seas while transporting specially trained captains who bring cargo ships into port.

The rule would have made operating pilot boats unsafe in bad weather, effectively closing the shipping channels until conditions improved.

“The rule as we were interpreting it would have had a massive impact on trade up and down the East Coast,” said Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch. “It would have made it difficult to have the cargo flowing in the winter months. The proposal wasn’t well thought out and more work can be done to develop a solution that protects the whales and protects the folks at sea.”

Carter vowed to continue a push to explore other approaches to protecting right whales. Legislation he introduced in the last Congress, House Resolution 8704, called for the creation of a grant program to spur new technological developments to help boat captains spot whales and avoid collisions.

“This proposed rule was burdensome, overreaching and would have caused irreparable harm to the Atlantic coast without providing any environmental benefits,” Carter said in a statement released Wednesday. “Tracking technologies exist that would help prevent right whale vessel strikes, and I hope to see those more broadly used in the coming years.”