After Georgia deaths, feds advance broadened protection for North Atlantic right whales

Federal officials have taken what they consider a significant step toward protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale from deadly vessel strikes. 

After 18 months of consideration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday advanced a rule change that would expand seasonal speed limits aimed at shielding the endangered species from deadly vessel strikes. 

Current federal regulations set a maximum of 10 knots (11.5 mph) from mid-November to mid-June for vessels at least 65 feet long in a protective zone stretching from Brunswick to Wilmington, North Carolina, an area where right whales gather to give birth in warm Atlantic waters. 

The new rule sets the size threshold at 35 feet. 

After 18 months of consideration, a NOAA spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed that the agency sent the measure to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a division of the Office of Management and Budget that reviews federal regulations originating in the Executive Branch. 

The move comes three days after a shark-scavenged carcass of a right whale calf – the first newborn identified during the current birthing season – was discovered at the Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia. 

The calf, the eighth documented offspring from a whale known as Juno, was observed Jan. 3 with serious wounds to its head, mouth and lip from a vessel strike.  

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Responders to Cumberland Island this week identified the dead whale as Juno’s calf based on its “unique injuries and markings” noted in earlier observations, NOAA said. 

It is the second reported North Atlantic right whale death in waters off Georgia in less than a month and the third during the current Atlantic calving season. A year-old female right whale, also the victim of a vessel strike, was found dead Feb. 13 floating about 20 miles from Tybee Island. 

According to NOAA, at least 39 North Atlantic right whale deaths have been confirmed since 2017. That represents more than 10% of the current estimated right whale population, which researchers believe includes fewer than 70 reproducing females. 

About one-third of the deaths were the result of vessel strikes, and 40% of those involved collisions with boats in the 35-to-65-foot range, NOAA says. 

The National Marine Manufacturers Association, a longtime critic of the expanded speed limits, was quick to express its displeasure Wednesday.  

“We are extremely disappointed and alarmed to see this economically catastrophic and deeply flawed rule proceed to these final stages,” said NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer. “The proposed rule is based on incorrect assumptions and questionable data, and fails to distinguish between large, ocean-crossing vessels and small recreational boats, which could not be more different from each other.” 

This is a developing story.

John Deem covers climate change and the environment on the Georgia coast. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com