Groups ask court to speed up whale protections while GA's Rep. Carter pushes for delay

As coastal Georgia’s congressional representative seeks to delay expanding federal rules to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, conservation groups on Tuesday asked a judge to expedite the process.

The motion, filed in U.S. District court for the District of Columbia, asks for a Nov. 1 deadline to finalize new speed regulations in areas frequented by right whales during calving season. That includes warm waters off the coast of Georgia where many calves are born.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican whose district covers Georgia’s 100-mile coastline, argues that the proposed new rules would pose an undue burden on recreational boaters and smaller vessels that ferry harbor pilots to and from the cargo ships they guide through the Port of Savannah’s navigation channel.

“There is bipartisan agreement that we can protect the endangered right whales without harming our ports and coastal communities,” Carter told members of the House Committee on Natural Resources June 27.

Legislation introduced in 2023 by Carter and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola of Arkansas calls for a years-long delay in funding for enforcement of the new rules and establishing a grant program to encourage technology-based solutions to whale collisions.

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

In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Fisheries division proposed lowering the size threshold to 35 feet.

Conservation groups told the court Tuesday they’d waited long enough for implementation of the revised rule.

“The right whale has no more time to wait for (NOAA’s) foot-dragging” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney with Defenders of Wildlife. “We are watching this species’ extinction unfold in real time on this administration’s watch. We’re asking the court to enforce the law because (NOAA) clearly isn’t up to the task.”

‘Hovering on the brink of extinction’

The Atlantic teemed with as many as 21,000 right whales before their population was decimated by commercial whaling in the late 19th century, driving their numbers down to an estimated 100.

NOAA has reported at least 41 right whale fatalities since 2017. There are believed to be about 340 remaining, including fewer than 70 reproducing females.

Collisions with boats and entanglement in fishing nets are their primary threats.

Seven deaths and “likely lethal” injuries from vessel strikes have been documented since conservation groups first sued the federal government over the regulations in 2021, the organizations said Tuesday.

Two right whales who’d been struck by vessels were found dead off the coast of Georgia during the most recent calving season, including one whose remains were towed 20 miles to the beach at Tybee Island.

In all, NOAA has reported more than 40 right whale deaths since 2017.

“North Atlantic right whales are hovering on the brink of extinction, and the last thing they need is more delay in reducing vessel speeds in some of their most important habitat,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s been abundantly clear for a long time that slowing vessels down saves whales . ... It’s time to get this done before it’s too late.”

‘Balance ... with public safety’

Congressman Carter, the Georgia Ports Authority and other critics argue that the proposed rules would endanger boats that ferry highly trained river pilots to and from ships when they’re at sea. Those vessels are designed to travel at higher speeds and would be at risk of capsizing in heavy seas, Carter said.

“We need to protect the right whales, but we have to balance that with public safety and the needs of our coastal shipping economy,” Carter told the House committee.

However, the proposed new rule includes exceptions aimed at addressing weather-related conditions for vessels smaller than 65 feet, including personal and commercial craft.

Vessels could legally exceed the limits when it is “necessary to maintain safe maneuvering speed and justified because the vessel is in an area where oceanographic, hydrographic, and/or meteorological conditions severely restrict the maneuverability of the vessel and the need to operate at such speed is confirmed by the pilot on board or, when a vessel is not carrying a pilot, the master of the vessel.”

The speed standards also would be waived if the National Weather Service issues a warning that includes potential gale-force winds (at least 39 mph).

“With this improved nuance to the rule that provides for rough weather and other conditions, blanket exemptions and exceptions are not warranted and (would) undermine the intended positive outcomes of the new rule,” explained Gib Brogan, fisheries campaign director at the organization Oceana.

John Deem covers climate change and the environment on the Georgia coast. He can be reached at 912-652-0213 or jdeem@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Groups go to court to push NOAA on North Atlantic right whale rules