Federal officials have withdrawn a proposed slow zone for ferries, ships and large boats along the U.S. East Coast after months of heated criticism from Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and other coastal communities. Whale conservationists lamented the move as a major loss, saying the proposal was a “much-needed” effort to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from extinction.
In a document filed Wednesday morning, officials from a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they decided to withdraw the plan after receiving 90,000 public comments — many of which included requests for more public engagement.
“Despite its best efforts, [the National Marine Fisheries Service] does not have sufficient time to finalize this regulation in this Administration due to the scope and volume of public comments,” the filing said. “NMFS hereby withdraws the August 2022 proposed rule and terminates this rulemaking proceeding.”
Brooke Mohr, chair of the Nantucket Select Board, said her first reaction was a “happy dance.”
“It's overwhelming relief for my community, honestly, that this isn't hanging over our heads,” Mohr said. “The worry about this is over.”
According to the NMFS document, the proposed rule would have “expanded the size class of regulated vessels subject to applicable vessel speed restrictions, enlarged the boundaries and extended the timing of seasonal speed zones,” among other measures.
Essentially, it would have required vessels 35 feet or longer to travel at no more than 10 knots during certain times of the year in Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound, among other areas on the East Coast.
Mohr and other critics of the proposal, including Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, said that while it’s important to protect an endangered species, the proposal would have reduced the number of trips the ferry service could provide to the islands — service that is vital for emergency response and the economy.
“Basically, our fast ferry service would be eliminated in the off season, and our slow ferry service would go from three trips a day to two trips a day, and it would go from two hours and ten minutes to almost three hours one way — making it virtually impossible to travel for day trips off Nantucket,” Mohr said.
One analysis from the UMass Donahue Institute found the loss of trips would translate into an 11% loss for Nantucket’s economy.
“It’s hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact,” Mohr said. “And yes, money and our economy is important, but really the social aspects of this just would be devastating.”
She pointed to the need to travel on and off island daily by workers, as well as by residents for medical care, youth sports, and more.
But right whale experts condemned NOAA’s decision. They said research shows the proposed speed rule would have protected the remaining 370 North Atlantic right whales from getting hit by boats.
“There are far too many whales dying from boat strikes,” said Gib Brogan, a fisheries campaign director with the advocacy group Oceana. “To see this go away and be rolled over to an undetermined future action is disappointing when the opportunity and the need for better protections is right there in front of President Biden.”
Boat collisions and entanglement in fishing lines are the two leading causes of death for North Atlantic right whales, which were nearly hunted out of existence before protections were enforced.
Since the speed regulation was proposed more than two years ago, boat collisions have accounted for at least four North Atlantic right whale deaths and five injuries in U.S. waters, experts say. Humpbacks, minkes, and whales from other species have also suffered similar fates.
“Failing to implement stronger vessel strike protection measures puts these animals at further risk of extinction. To survive, right whales require immediate, decisive, and effective solutions to protect individuals from preventable deaths,” said Jessica Redfern, associate vice president of ocean conservation at the New England Aquarium.
Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, agreed.
“Accidental entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes are listed as the primary threats to North Atlantic right whales,” she said in a statement, “but their actual greatest threat is political inaction and that is what will drive them to extinction.”
Federal officials say existing boat speed regulations from 2008 will remain in effect, and future speed rules will be open for discussion.
