Monday January 20, 2025
The News and Observer —
Federal regulators have withdrawn a proposed rule that would have significantly expanded the number of ships required to slow down as they travel in waters near the shoreline to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The National Marine Fisheries Service rule would have required any vessel longer than 35 feet to limit its top speed to 10 knots off North Carolina’s coast between Nov. 1 and April 30. Right now, the speed limit applies to any vessel longer than 65 feet and is limited to areas around the Ports of Morehead City and Wilmington.
Additionally, the rule would have mandated slow zones that are now voluntary when whales are spotted outside of areas with seasonal slow zones. Originally proposed in August 2022, the rule is part of the agency’s efforts to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale from extinction. About 90,000 people or organizations submitted comments on the rule.
Due to the volume of comments, the agency said, it was impossible to finalize the rule before the end of the Biden administration. Environmental groups that pushed for the rule and scientists who supported it criticized the decision, while opponents celebrated the defeat of a rules package they said was unnecessarily onerous.