A recent study has unveiled a pressing issue off the US East Coast, where an alarming number of large vessels are flouting designated slow-zones designed to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, a species with a perilously small population of around 340 individuals. The analysis of vessel tracking data, released by the nonprofit organization Oceana, highlights the urgent need for stronger safeguards and increased enforcement to prevent the extinction of these majestic creatures.
Gib Brogan, campaign director at Oceana, emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “Boats are speeding, and whales are dying – it’s that simple.” Collisions with boats represent one of the two primary causes of mortality for North Atlantic right whales, with the other being entanglement in fishing ropes. These collisions result in blunt force trauma or propeller injuries, leading to the death of these magnificent marine mammals.
Since 2008, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has imposed mandatory speed limits of 10 knots for vessels measuring 65 feet (19.8 meters) or longer in areas where these whales are expected to be present, while recommending the same speed in areas where they have been sighted. However, data collected from ship transceivers reveals that between November 2020 and July 2022, a staggering 84 percent of vessels exceeded the mandatory speed limits, and 82 percent did the same in voluntary zones.
Gib Brogan shed light on the industry’s perspective, explaining, “What we’ve been told by people in the maritime industry is it comes down to balancing the risk of a minimal fine from the government versus the reality of the fines for getting their cargo to port behind schedule.”
Of note, of the 9,358 vessel trips that exceeded the speed limit from November 2021 to July 2022, NOAA issued fines in only 46 cases, with an average fine of approximately $15,600.
North Atlantic right whales, which can reach lengths of up to 60 feet (18 meters) and have lifespans akin to humans, once numbered as many as 20,000 individuals before the ravages of commercial whaling decimated their population. They were sought after by whalers for their blubber and baleen plates, used in the pre-plastic era. A ban on commercial hunting in the mid-20th century led to a modest recovery, with a peak population of 483 individuals by 2010. However, since 2017, they have faced an “unusual mortality event,” with the most recent documented boat strike fatality occurring in February, when a 20-year-old male washed ashore with a broken spine near mid-Atlantic Virginia Beach. Given the already precarious population size, even a few deaths can trigger a dangerous decline. The whales are also contending with changes in their traditional foraging areas due to climate change.
Oceana’s report advocates for the adjustment of slow-zones to align with the whales’ current distribution, the elimination of voluntary speed limits, and the extension of regulations to cover ships as short as 35 feet. Gib Brogan emphasized, “We know what we need to do to save the species – so it’s a matter of just doing it and allowing the whales to make a comeback.”