Why It Matters: A proposed rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that would have done little for whale conservation while substantially impacting angler and boater access and coastal economies has been withdrawn by the agency. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), state legislative sportsmen’s caucuses, and our community partners have worked diligently for the last two years pushing alternative technological solutions that provide effective protections for whales while retaining access to our ocean resources for America’s anglers. The rule withdrawal now clears the path for a more meaningful, effective, and ultimately a less harmful approach to large whale conservation.
Highlights:
- Although the chances of a recreational vessel striking a North Atlantic right whale (NARW) are extremely small (less than 1-in-1 million), all boats 35 feet and longer would have faced a drastic reduction in safe ocean access if the NOAA-proposed rule had been implemented.
- CSF, members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, state sportsmen’s caucuses along the Atlantic, and partners have been advocating for better alternatives for right whale conservation using existing and emerging technologies that offer real solutions.
CSF applauds last week’s withdrawal of a proposed rule to expand the scope and size of an existing 10-knot vessel speed limit for ships 65 feet and longer in certain areas to vessels 35 feet and longer for much of the Atlantic coast and for more than half the year. The rule would have virtually eliminated offshore fishing access for thousands of anglers and charter businesses along the Atlantic. Since the final rule was dropped in August of 2022, CSF and our community partners have pushed hard on a different pathway for North Atlantic right whales and other large whale conservation efforts that uses latest technologies to more efficiently avoid vessel-whale encounters.
“We were very glad to see NOAA withdraw the rule and the opportunity to work towards meaningful whale conservation measures while protecting angler access and coastal economies at the same time,” said CSF’s Senior Director of Fisheries Policy Chris Horton. “The recreational boating and fishing community and members of the Congressional and state sportsmen’s caucuses understand the importance of protecting whales, and we look forward to doing just that in a more meaningful way.”
With the current and rapidly emerging technologies available to detect the presence of whales and disseminate that location information to all vessels in a given area, there is an opportunity for NOAA to work closely with the fishing, boating and maritime industries to find more viable and successful solutions in a relatively short amount of time. Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Members in both the House and Senate, along with state legislative sportsmen’s caucuses from Florida to Massachusetts, echoed this same approach through legislation, resolutions, and letters over the last two years.
