Plan to protect whales would stop nighttime traffic to 4 Florida ports, including Manatee

James A. Jones Jr.
·5 min read
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Correction: The endangered whales are Rice’s whales, which were discovered in 2021 and are a unique species from Bryde’s whales. A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the whales.

The Florida Ports Council is strongly reacting to a whale protection proposal being considered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, saying it would disrupt operations at four Florida west coast ports.

The ports are SeaPort Manatee, Port Tampa Bay, Port Panama City and Port of Pensacola.

In 2019, NOAA listed Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. In 2021, scientists concluded that the animal was in fact Rice’s whales, a unique species, genetically and morphologically distinct from Bryde’s whales.

The whale is at risk of extinction due to its small population size, restricted range and several major threats.

The Rice’s whales are the only known baleen whales to live in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts estimate fewer than 100 are left, NOAA said.

The proposal calls for eliminating all nighttime vessel traffic, and significantly reducing daytime vessel speeds, said Mike Rubin, president and CEO of the Florida Ports Council, a nonprofit that serves as the professional association for Florida’s 15 public seaports.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association is proposing a rule change to protect endangered Rice’s whales. West Coast Florida ports are objecting to the rule change, saying that it goes too far. The Bryde’s whale shown above was found floating off Tampa Bay in 2009.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association is proposing a rule change to protect endangered Rice’s whales. West Coast Florida ports are objecting to the rule change, saying that it goes too far. The Bryde’s whale shown above was found floating off Tampa Bay in 2009.

The proposal would only affect Florida’s west coast ports, and not those in other Gulf states, although the whales are found in waters from Florida to Texas, he said.

“It’s as if NOAA wants Florida to hang up a closed for business sign,” Rubin said.

Dave Sanford, deputy executive director of SeaPort Manatee, shares Rubin’s concerns.

“We were made aware of this two weeks ago by the Florida Ports Council and are fully supportive of the position they have taken,” Sanford said.

Operations at SeaPort Manatee and three other west coast Florida ports would be affected by a proposed NOAA rule change to protect endangered Rice’s whales.
Operations at SeaPort Manatee and three other west coast Florida ports would be affected by a proposed NOAA rule change to protect endangered Rice’s whales.

“SeaPort Manatee and Port Tampa Bay are two of only four fuel ports in Florida. It would be extremely difficult for us to accommodate all our ship traffic only in daylight hours,” Sanford said.

In response to the Florida Ports Council statement, NOAA issued this statement:

“NOAA Fisheries has not issued a proposed rule. NOAA Fisheries received a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Healthy Gulf, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, and New England Aquarium.

“The petitioners requested that NOAA Fisheries use our legal authorities to establish a ‘Vessel Slowdown Zone’ to protect Rice’s whales from collisions with vessels and noise pollution. NOAA Fisheries is asking the public for comments on the petitioners’ request. We will consider those comments and all available information in deciding whether to accept the petition and proceed with rulemaking. No decision has been made and no proposed rule has been issued.”

In a phone interview with the Bradenton Herald, Rubin called the whale study “speculative,” and said that the ports council is doing its best to make its position known.

“Implicit in the federal government’s call for eliminating nighttime vessel traffic and reducing daytime vessel speeds only in Florida between Pensacola and Tampa Bay, is an uninformed assertion that Florida’s seaports have limited operations and shutting them down would not harm the supply chain in Florida or the broader United States,” the ports council said.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association is proposing a rule change to protect endangered Gulf of Mexico Rice’s whales. West Coast Florida ports are objecting to the rule change, saying that it goes too far.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association is proposing a rule change to protect endangered Gulf of Mexico Rice’s whales. West Coast Florida ports are objecting to the rule change, saying that it goes too far.

What the ports council wants

The ports council has requested that NOAA reject the proposal, and take action to work with ports, the maritime industry and others to determine the effect any proposal would have on ports and the communities they serve.

Port Tampa Bay handled cargo with an economic value of $17 billion in fiscal year 2022. More than 6,400 ships called on the port in during 2022. That’s 17-plus ships each day. All vessels traveled at night in the Gulf of Mexico for part of their transit.

At SeaPort Manatee, it’s estimated that 33.4% of its ship traffic, reflecting a $1.7 billion value, will be affected by this proposed rule. Annually, 325 cargo vessels call on the port, representing 33.4 percent of all ship traffic.

As to a possible timetable, NOAA said:

“NOAA has received more than 35,000 comments on the petition in response to the notice so far. After the comment period closes, NOAA will review the comments before deciding whether to deny the petition or undertake a future rulemaking. At this time, we are unable to provide an estimated timeframe as to how long that process may take.”

Gulf of Mexico whales

“This is one of the most endangered marine mammal populations in the world,” Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said in 2019. “Survival of the species depends upon applying the full protections afforded under the Endangered Species Act.”

Whalers documented and observed this species in the Gulf of Mexico as far back as the late 1700s. However, since the 1990s, Bryde’s whales have been consistently detected only within a small area along the De Soto Canyon shelf break in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, according to NOAA.

In 2021, studies concluded that Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whales were actually Rice’s whales.

This species is genetically distinct from the other two subspecies of Bryde’s whales worldwide, NOAA said.

A 41-foot-whale found floating in the Port of Tampa was killed by a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, The Associated Press reported in 2009.

NOAA’s Blair Mase said the wounds on the female whale indicate that it was killed by a ship and carried into port, draped across the freighter’s bow, the AP reported.

This species has primarily been found in this very small area in the Gulf, even though historical whaling records suggest their range may have been much broader, encompassing the north-central and southern Gulf of Mexico, NOAA said.