Why it Matters: The recreational boating and fishing community understands the importance of protecting North Atlantic right whales (NARW) and fully supports efforts to do so. However, a proposed rule regarding vessel speed reductions along much of the Atlantic seaboard will create significant access barriers for offshore anglers and boaters for more than half the year while doing little for NARW conservation. The proposed rule is currently with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final review and approval, and on April 23rd, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and the Center for Sportfishing Policy (CSP) met with OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and presented compelling reasons why the rule should be returned to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop more effective and reasonable alternatives that protect whales while safeguarding access to the Atlantic.
Highlights:
- An exceedingly precautionary vessel speed rule currently proposed to protect North Atlantic right whales would do little for whale conservation while have major adverse impacts to boating access, coastal economies, and the fishing and boating industry on the Atlantic.
- The proposed vessel speed rule is at the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review, which provides one more opportunity for the recreational fishing and boating community to make a case for revising the rule in favor or more effective alternatives regulations that both conserves whales and access to our Atlantic coast fisheries.
On April 23, CSF and CSP staff participated in a meeting with OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) concerning NOAA’s proposed NARW Vessel Strike Reduction Rule (VSR). The final rule was first published in August of 2022, and OMB’s OIRA is the last stage of the approval process that allows for concerns with the VSR and rational for other alternatives to be presented before the fate of the rule is determined.
CSF and CSP submitted a letter to OIRA prior to the meeting that highlights some of the concerns in our wheelhouse specific to the proposed rule’s shortcomings from the recreational fishing and boating access perspective. Arguments for returning the rule to NOAA for reanalysis and developing other alternatives include:
- Economic Impact – The proposed rule vastly underestimated the number of recreational vessels that would be impacted by the rule and the resulting significant negative economic impact to coastal economies and the fishing and boating industry.
- Safety at Sea – The proposed rule would require planing-hull boats to operate at speeds that elevate the bow and reduce visibility and steering. Deviations are only allowed in the event of a National Weather Service gale force wind advisory, at which point, sea conditions have deteriorated to a point where assuming a planing speed and a quick return to port is impractical.
- Improbable Risk of Collision – The risk analysis on which the rule was based assumes a vessel draft depth of 10 meters (32.8 feet) when most recreational vessels draft less than two feet. There is less than a one in a million chance of a recreational vessel striking a NARW based on data from 2008 to present.
- Technological Alternatives – NOAA failed to consider alternatives that include recent technological advances funded by the private sector that can identify the proximate presence of whales and alert boaters so that these rare encounters ensure protection of whales without endangering people on the water.
- Lack of Regulatory Authority – Neither ESA nor MMPA provide NMFS with authority to impose broad rules to regulate a lawful societal activity like boating that has a very low probability of occurring.
- Adverse Effects on Conservation Funding – The “user pays – public benefits” American System of Conservation Funding, which largely funds fish and wildlife conservation in the United States and is a model unique to the rest of the world, relies in large part on fishing and boating participation and excise taxes on equipment. A significant reduction in angler access and opportunity would ensure less conservation funding for state agencies, not only on the Atlantic Coast, but nationwide.
CSF, CSP, the American Sportfishing Association, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and many others in the marine recreational fishing and boating community will continue to work towards a better approach to conserving the NARW while ensuring we can safely access our Atlantic coast resources.
