Conservation groups said they're waiting on the federal government to finalize long-delayed ship speed limits, which are aimed at preventing collisions with critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. But industry groups are now asking Congress for a five-year delay.
The new speed rules were proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) nearly two years ago.
Since then, the outdoor recreation and maritime shipping industries have argued that new speed restrictions would harm their businesses.
"Imagine owning a 45-foot vessel and desiring to fish offshore, typically 80 to 90 miles, and being restricted to 10 knots," said Jeff Strong with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. "Our clients will not do this. They will sell their boats and create significant job losses."
The industries are advocating for new federal legislation that would delay the implementation until at least 2030 and instead establish a grant program to deploy technologies aimed at reducing right whale vessel strikes.
Jessica Redfern, a scientist and associate vice president of the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium acknowledged that new technology may help boaters detect right whales in real time. But she said that will take time to test, and with a population of fewer than 350 right whales, the species can't afford to wait.
"The aquarium is committed to working with our partners to find technological solutions," Redfern said Thursday during a U.S. congressional hearing on the proposed legislation. "We just have to make sure right whales survive for long enough to benefit from those technologies."
At least three right whales have been killed by ships within the last year, Redfern said. Another has died due to an entanglement in Maine fishing gear. NOAA has reported that at least four right whale calves have gone missing so far in 2024 and are presumed dead because they've lost contact with their mothers.
NOAA, for its part, said during Thursday's congressional hearing that it also opposes legislation that will delay ship speed rules, though it's unclear what exactly is holding up the agency from finalizing them.
Congress has already approved a pause on new rules aimed at reducing the risks of fishing gear entanglement on right whales through 2028.
