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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 12
August 2006
Whale ship strike rules to impact fishing vessels
SILVER SPRING, MD – After years of study and meetings with shippers and other stakeholders, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has published proposed regulations to reduce the threat of ship strikes to northern right whales.
These proposals, which primarily establish seasonal speed restrictions in specified areas in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast, apply not only to the big ships but to every commercial and private vessel on the water that is 65' or greater in overall length.
“We believe the measures proposed here will make the US East Coast waters safer for right whales,” said NMFS Director Bill Hogarth in a June 23 press release.
According to the NMFS Northeast Office of Protected Resources, the proposed rule differs from the advanced notice of proposed rule-making (ANPR) published two years ago in several significant ways.
The speed restriction in designated areas is generally 10 knots or less instead of the originally proposed 12 or 14 knots because analyses indicated the lower speed would have a greater conservation value. However, NMFS still wants public comment on the higher speeds.
The proposed rule extends seasonally managed areas along the Mid-Atlantic out to 30 nautical miles. The ANPR had discussed management areas of 20-30 nautical miles from shore.
Additionally, some of the times and areas affected by the proposals have been modified to better capture right whale distribution and migration patterns.
Finally, the economic analyses have been completed and included in a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) that was released for public comment on July 7.
The DEIS contains all the supporting analysis for the proposed action to reduce the ship strike threat, while the proposed rule explains how a proposed action will be implemented.
Five-pronged strategy
In the June 26 Federal Register notice officially announcing the proposed rule, NMFS explained that it was using a five-part strategy to reduce the risk of injury to right whales from ship strikes.
The first four involve ongoing conservation and research activities, public education, consultations under the Endangered Species Act, and a right whale conservation agreement with Canada.
The fifth part of the agency’s strategy – the one addressed by the proposed rule – establishes “new operational measures for commercial and recreational mariners,” meaning all non-government vessels 65' and up.
The agency based the timing and location of the operational measures on the migration, calving, and feeding habits of the whales.
Northeast
For the waters off the Northeast coast, NMFS identified four areas where right whales congregate – Cape Cod Bay, off Race Point, the northern Gulf of Maine, and, singled out as “one of the most important habitats for right whales,” the Great South Channel where whales aggregate in spring and early summer to feed on dense prey patches.
“In some years, more than one-third of the North Atlantic right whale population can be found in this area, and it is likely that well over half the population feeds in, or at least passes through, this area during the course of the year,” NMFS said.
The agency is proposing the following operational measures for each of these areas:
• Cape Cod Bay – Restricted vessel speed Jan. 1-May 15 each year;
• Off Race Point – Restricted vessel speed March 1-April 30 each year in a box approximately 50 nautical miles by 50 nautical miles north and east of Cape Cod; and
• Great South Channel – Restricted vessel speed April 1-July 31 each year.
“DMAs”
NMFS did not propose a specific vessel speed restriction timeframe for the northern Gulf of Maine.
“Whale occurrence in this area is often not consistently or predictably in high densities,” NMFS said. “Moreover, vessel traffic in this area, other than transits into Portland, ME, does not exhibit predictable patterns.”
Instead, NMFS is proposing to use dynamic management area (DMA) actions to govern vessel activities everywhere in the Atlantic under US jurisdiction when right whales are spotted during times or in areas not covered by the operational measures.
Like the more familiar dynamic area management, or DAM, actions, DMAs will be triggered by the presence of whales in an area – three or more generally, but just one or more whales in an official “traffic separation scheme” approach to a port or within certain Mid-Atlantic port entrance zones.
The size of the DMA area will depend on the number and distribution of the animals sighted. When a DMA is announced, mariners will have the option of limiting their speed to no more than 10 knots within the DMA area or steaming around the area. A DMA will remain in effect for 15 days from the date of activation and will automatically expire if not renewed or changed by NMFS.
“While DMAs can be a logistical challenge and may involve a heavy resource commitment (to verify the presence of the whales, issue restrictions, and monitor compliance),” the agency said, “they allow NMFS to minimize the size of the seasonally managed areas as well as the time when these seasonal management measures are operational.”
Mid-Atlantic
For the waters off the Mid-Atlantic, NMFS is proposing to restrict vessel speed Nov. 1-April 30 each year within 30 nautical miles around a number of port or bay entrances from New York to Savannah, GA, including:
• Ports of New York/New Jersey;
• Delaware Bay;
• Entrance to Chesapeake Bay;
• Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC; and
• Wilmington, NC.
For Block Island Sound, NMFS is proposing the designated area be a box extending out 30 nautical miles from shore between Montauk Point and the western end of Martha’s Vineyard.
Public comments
The proposed rule and DEIS are on parallel tracks. NMFS was not planning to schedule any public hearings on the proposed rule because it was extensively discussed during the ANRP process in 2004, and the comment period on the proposed rule closes on Aug. 25.
For the DEIS, the comment period closes on Sept. 5 and NMFS has scheduled two public hearings in the Northeast:
• Thursday, Aug. 10 at the Maryland Science Center MSC Theater in Baltimore, MD, 1-4 pm; and
• Monday, Aug. 14 at the Thomas (Tip) O’Neill Federal Building Auditorium in Boston, MA, 1-4 pm.
Both the proposed rule and the DEIS are available on the Internet at <www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike>. /cfn/
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