PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government has decided to retract a proposal that would have mandated a slowdown for more ships traveling in East Coast waters, aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Officials announced this significant development on Wednesday, a move that critics argue will increase the risk of extinction for this vulnerable species as the Trump administration seems to pivot away from environmental conservation in favor of supporting marine industries. According to federal officials, there simply isn’t enough time to finalize these regulations before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Monday.
The vessel speed regulations, which were proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service more than two years ago, have spurred considerable debate among various stakeholders, including shipping companies, commercial fishermen, and wildlife conservationists all concerned with the whales’ fate. Currently, the right whale population is critically low, with fewer than 380 individuals remaining, and recent years have seen a steep decline in their numbers.
Gib Brogan, a campaign director with the conservation organization Oceana, expressed concerns regarding the Trump administration’s anticipated stance toward new shipping regulations. He stated, “While we’ve been waiting and watching the proposed rule move forward, and ultimately stall, we’ve watched on the water outcomes of the current insufficient protections. And we’ve watched whales be killed by speeding boats.”
The proposed regulations aimed to enhance slow zones along the East Coast and expand the categories of vessels required to reduce speed. The fisheries service reported receiving about 90,000 public responses regarding these rules. Documentation set to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday indicated that the service could not complete the regulations in time due to the extensive volume of public input.
Katherine Silverstein, a spokesperson for the National Marine Fisheries Service, confirmed the withdrawal of the rule on Wednesday, stating that the final adjustments to the regulations had been under review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. This office oversees new regulations before they are finalized.
Conservationists have long contended that more rigorous ship speed regulations are critical for the whales’ protection, especially since rising ocean temperatures appear to be diverting the creatures from their designated safe zones. The government initially put forth this proposal in the summer of 2022, and a coalition of environment-focused organizations had filed a lawsuit last year to hasten the rule’s completion.
On the other hand, some shipping companies have argued that these rules could have detrimental economic effects on the boating and shipping sectors. Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, noted, “This is a huge step forward for American boat manufacturers, coastal economies, and outdoor enthusiasts across the U.S. The way this rule was drafted gave rulemaking a bad name and created an entirely preventable dynamic.”
Historically, right whales once thrived off the East Coast, but their population was severely reduced during the era of commercial whaling. Although protections have been in place for many years, their recovery has been painfully slow. The whales migrate between calving grounds in Florida and Georgia and feeding areas in New England and Canada, but this journey has increasingly become dangerous as their food sources move to colder waters, prompting the whales to abandon established protected zones, according to scientists.
Conservation groups advocating for the completion of these rules cite documented collisions as a reason for their urgency. In a widely reported incident last year, a stranded calf in Georgia exhibited injuries consistent with a vessel strike, as confirmed by government researchers. The population of right whales exceeded 480 in 2010, but it has since decreased by over 25% within the last decade. Although numbers have seen a slight uptick recently, the species remains critically endangered, with vessel strikes being a major contributor to its decline, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
