NOAA withdraws North Atlantic right whale proposal

By Daniel Cusick | 01/15/2025 01:27 PM EST

The speed limit rule for boats 35 feet or longer was initially rolled out in 2022 and sat at the White House for 11 months without final action.

A North Atlantic right whale in the waters off New England.

A North Atlantic right whale swims in the waters off New England on May 25, 2024. NOAA via AP

The Biden administration has withdrawn a pending regulation to impose new speed limits on smaller boats along the Atlantic coast that would have provided additional protection to endangered North Atlantic right whales.

In a Federal Register notice, NOAA Fisheries said it would not move to finalize its amended vessel-strike reduction rule, citing “numerous and ongoing requests from the public for further opportunity to review and engage with the agency on the proposal.”

The rule had been under review since March by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. OMB officials did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

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The agency’s existing regulations require all vessels 65 feet or longer to travel no faster than 10 knots when crossing through “areas of concern” for right whales. The withdrawn amendment would have extended the speed restriction to boats 35 feet or longer.

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