Enforcement of vessel speed limits vital to save North Atlantic right whales

LONG BRANCH, N.J. – At a news conference Thursday at the Jersey Shore, Rep. Frank Pallone called on the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enforce speed limits for large watercraft.

Multiple dead whales have washed ashore in New Jersey in recent years and ship strikes are one of the primary reasons. NOAA issued speed limit rules in 2008, calling for vessels longer than 65 feet to slow their speeds in “Seasonal Management Areas.” Recent data has cast serious doubt as to whether anyone enforces the vessel speed rule: A new report says that 84% of large boats exceed the limit of 10 knots.

Environment New Jersey’s State Director Doug O’Malley spoke at the press conference with Rep. Pallone and issued the following statement: 

“Who hasn’t watched a vehicle speeding dangerously fast on the Turnpike and hoped that the NJ State Police might see it too and would nab them? Off the Shore, it turns out it’s not the occasional speeder — more than 4 in 5 large vessels fail to abide by the vessel speed rule put in place to protect highly endangered right whales and other marine life.

“Fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales are left on this planet. Ship strikes, along with fishing gear entanglements, are the leading causes of death, despite a speed limit at key times of year and in places where right whales congregate.

“Allowing large vessels to routinely ignore speed limits and break the law isn’t acceptable.

Enforcement is a vital first step for protecting whales off the Jersey Shore and we commend Rep. Frank Pallone for his efforts to ensure that existing speed limits are enforced to save marine life. Let’s brake for whales.”

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Environment New Jersey is a statewide action and policy group with one mission: to build a greener, healthier world.