Pallone Demands Coast Guard and NOAA Enforce the Law to Protect Marine Mammals
Long Branch, NJ – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today held a press conference to demand that the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) enforce speeding restrictions on large vessels that break the law, injuring and killing marine mammals. In a letter to the Coast Guard Commandant and NOAA Administrator, Pallone highlighted recent reporting that shows an egregious 84% of large vessels like cargo ships fail to comply with speed rules intended to protect marine mammals.
The Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act required NOAA to create a vessel speed rule, which mandates all vessels 65 feet and longer to travel at a speed of ten knots or less in certain times and places to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale from injury or death. Recent analysis of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data demonstrates that the vast majority of large vessels are speeding through the most sensitive and important areas for marine mammal protection in direct violation of the law. According to NOAA, vessel strikes and entanglements have caused more than 77 percent of deaths and injuries of the endangered North Atlantic right whale since 2017.
“We know the vessel speed restriction rule works when followed. However, I urge NOAA and the Coast Guard to work together to expand existing enforcement efforts to go after the worst offenders of the 2008 rule,” Pallone wrote. “Scientists are hopeful that the North Atlantic right whale population can rebound, particularly if mothers and calves which reside silently at the surface of the water receive a chance to live and grow without being injured or killed by offending operators of large commercial ships and mega yachts. The right whale and other mammals are too important to our Atlantic ecosystem and our nation’s cultural heritage to let vessels speeding their demise go without consequence.”
“Boats are speeding, and whales are dying — it’s just that simple. It’s clear that boats are still not abiding by the speed limits and are continuing to make the ocean a dangerous place for North Atlantic right whales. Time and time again we see what happens when speeding boats and right whales collide. Even one human-caused death is too many for this population to sustain. If NOAA wants to save this species from extinction, ships must slow down when these whales are present, and speeding boats must be held accountable,” said John Weber, Senior Field Representative, Oceana. “Time is of the essence before North Atlantic right whales reach the point of no return. Thank you to Congressman Pallone for being a friend of the North Atlantic right whale and supporting pragmatic solutions vital to the survival of this critically endangered species that frequents New Jersey waters.”
“If we want to effectively protect marine mammals, we must actually do the work to crack down and enforce the vessel speed rule. Over the past few years, there has been an Unusual Mortality Event for whales and other marine mammal species across the mid-Atlantic coast and the leading culprit of these deaths have been vessel strikes, which is tragic since they are entirely preventable,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, New Jersey Sierra Club Director. “The vessel speed rule must be enforced, strictly and properly, for it to be effective. We cannot allow public outcry to ‘save the whales’ become a slogan without any real claws. The New Jersey Sierra Club seconds Congressman Pallone’s call for further monitoring and enforcement of the rule by NOAA and the US Coast Guard.”
“Who hasn’t watched a vehicle speeding dangerously fast on the Turnpike and hoped the NJ State Police 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,” said Doug O'Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey. “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.”
“We want to thank Congressman Pallone for his continued leadership in protecting our oceans and marine life. Those who really care about protecting our marine wildlife should address the leading actual threats by restricting and enforcing vessel speeds, eliminating abandoned fishing gear, removing plastic from our waters, and, of course, addressing climate change,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director, New Jersey LCV. “We’ve got to slow down the boats. In every independent necropsy the leading cause of marine mammal deaths by far was determined to be a vessel, followed by fishing net entanglements, plastics, and disease. Shipping traffic has increased by 300% between 1992 and 2013, and it continues to increase at a rate of 2-3% per year. In addition to Congressman Pallone’s bold action on enforcing vessel speed restrictions, we appreciate that he is a leader in addressing climate change, which is the greatest threat to our oceans and marine life.”
A copy of the letter is available HERE.