This confuses the probability of any one single vessel hitting a whale. When you consider the risk across all vessels, there is a high level of risk for each right whale. Since 2008, when the vessel speed rule was first implemented, there have been at least 5 documented direct mortalities to right whales resulting from under 65 feet. And this figure does not include the loss of a dependent calf of one of the whales killed during the 2024 calving season, nor undetermined or undetected deaths. Scientific research demonstrates that only about one-third of right whale deaths are ever documented.
When you consider that we’re talking about fewer than 360 total whales remaining on this planet (a smaller population than members of the U.S. House of Representatives, or even most high schools in Carter’s District 1), and the true risk becomes alarmingly high.
There are currently a range of technologies in development to track whales and alert boaters, but they have not been evaluated or proven as effective as vessel speed restrictions and likely will never be able to fully replace speed regulations. Reducing speed to 10 knots is scientifically proven to reduce the risk of mortality from a collision by 80-90% and is a widely accepted international measure for marine mammal conservation.
Consider this analogy from Jane Davenport, senior attorney with Defenders of Wildlife: “We don’t rely on collision avoidance warnings in cars to protect kids going to school—we protect them with mandatory slow-down zones. The best available science shows us slower speeds prevent vessel strikes. Congress should not interfere with this science-based rule-making process.” (The Current, 7/26/23)
Further, right whale mothers are typically quiet when caring for their new calves, so as not to draw the attention of predators. Buoys with acoustic detection—one of the technologies often promoted as an alternative—are not going to be successful, according to researchers.
As Dr. Jessica Redfern, Associate VP for Ocean Conservation Science, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, testified on June 27, the science is clear. The revisions proposed by NOAA to the 2008 vessel speed rule will reduce the threat of vessel strikes to right whales, and that is critically important to curbing the trajectory towards extinction for the species.
During the June 27 hearing, Representative Carter repeated his misleading claim, again without providing evidence or identifying his source, that 27,000 jobs in Georgia are at risk if NOAA’s expanded rule is implemented. This number mirrors a figure from the National Marine Manufacturers Association that includes the number of jobs supported by recreational boating across the entire state—including in Georgia’s lakes and rivers, which would not be affected by the rule. According to the NMMA, the total jobs supported by recreational boating in coastal Georgia is less than one tenth of the figure Rep. Carter has cited.
The idea that entire industries and tens of thousands of jobs will be eliminated if we ask pilots of vessels and captains of yachts to go a little slower, for only a few months out of the year during winter calving season, is akin to suggesting all taxi drivers would go out of business if the speed limit was lowered.
It is important to recognize that this is a vessel speed rule, not a “boat” rule. The proposed rule would only apply to boats that are 35 feet or longer. To put that in perspective, that’s less than 5% of the boats registered in the U.S., according to the NMMA. According to The Current, as of March 2023, GA DNR reported a little more than 20,000 vessels (excluding personal watercraft) were registered in the six coastal counties. Of these, only 272 of them (or about 1.3%) were listed as 35 feet or longer. Simply put: a 35-65 foot vessel is a really large vessel, not the average boat of choice for most Georgians who want to go recreational fishing.
Notably, NOAA’s proposed rule will actually update the rule’s safety provisions, allowing vessels to exceed the 10-knot restriction in circumstances where human health and safety are at risk.
Many of these safety claims have repeatedly been made without any substantiating evidence. As Greg Reilly, Savannah Commander, U.S. Coast Guard (retired) and Marine Campaigner for International Fund for Animal Welfare, noted in a September 2023 letter to the editor, “The idea that it is unsafe to travel at slower speeds in rough weather is a flawed argument. Every safe boating organization recommends slower speeds when the weather picks up, including the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Further, consider the safety implications of a vessel hitting a right whale. These semi-truck sized whales, which can top 50 tons, pose significant risks to everyone in the water. As those who have previously struck whales (like in 2021, when a 54-foot charter vessel struck and killed a right whale and her calf off St. Augustine) can attest, it is a dangerous scenario they never saw coming until it was too late—one that puts their vessels, their captains, the lives of their passengers, and the lives of the whales in serious jeopardy. And we should also consider the lives of local scientists and researchers, who put their lives on the line every season when surveying and responding to right whale emergencies.
Catherine Ridley
VP, Education & Communications
Contact Catherine
“Facts matter. With the fate of an entire species on the line, we must consider the science, not scare-tactics and industry talking points.”
Please contact Catherine for more information about OHM’s work with right whales and ways to get involved.
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