Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is urging the Biden administration to modify or withdraw a proposed NOAA rule aimed at preventing vessel collisions with endangered North Atlantic right whales.
NOAA, Healey said, should revise the proposal to exempt Nantucket and Vineyard sounds or make other modifications to reduce impacts to marine traffic.
“Massachusetts has long been a leader in North Atlantic right whale protection efforts and has the most stringent state regulations to protect right whales in the country,” Healey wrote in a Dec. 23 letter to NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, “At the same time, we must ensure our island communities can still rely on ferry service that is vital to their economy and emergency response.”
She further argued that including Nantucket and Vineyard sounds, where ferries run daily, “would not meaningfully increase protection” for the whales, whose population is estimated at about 370 individuals, including 70 reproducing females.
