In a letter from U.S. Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-Alaska), four members of the House of Representatives asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to suspend further action on changes to the proposed North Atlantic right whale vessel speed rule.
“The proposed rule is significantly flawed because the technical analysis makes assumptions known to be inaccurate, which may derive from NOAA Fisheries’ decision to proceed without input from impacted stakeholders. This also calls into question the extent to which the proposed rule would even provide [North Atlantic right whales] with the protection needed.”
The letter was signed by Sattler Peltola, Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.). The letter also suggests that the rule could cause economic harm along much of the East Coast if public access is effectively eliminated for extended periods.
The representatives questioned the accuracy of NOAA’s data, saying that stakeholders provided much different numbers during testimony at hearings. NOAA has previously stated that the scale of boaters impacted would be approximately 9,300, but stakeholders estimate the number to be 63,000 and that the draft of said boats is 2 meters, not 10. Also, the cost of the rule along the Eastern Seaboard was estimated to be in the billions, not $46 million.
“Most crucially, the proposed rule assumes new protections for whales for which NOAA Fisheries does not provide evidence of a significant threat,” the letter further states. “Your agency references five different NARW strikes in the last 15 years by vessels under 65 feet, one of which was apparently outside the speed zones that already exist for larger vessels. The speed zones NOAA Fisheries created in 2008 have either yielded moderate or low compliance, which merits its own review, so it is hard to understand why NOAA would massively expand by areas and seasonality new zones without any explanation about how to enforce them.”
The representatives acknowledged that NOAA Fisheries is providing $82 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for NARW, which includes the development of vessel-strike reduction technology, and that in March 2024 the agency will host a multiday Vessel Strike Risk Reduction Technology Workshop.
