Many North Atlantic right whales have scarring from dangerous collisions with boats and ships. Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NMFS research permit #15488.
March 3, 2026 (Boston, MA) – The Trump administration’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced its intention to “deregulate” the 2008 North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule. As part of its “deregulatory-focused” update, they indicate they will try to eliminate the 10-knot speed limit for vessels passing through areas where North Atlantic right whales frequent. This speed limit is the only proven measure to protect right whales from vessel strikes, which are one of the leading causes of death for this critically endangered species.
“This reckless decision threatens the future of North Atlantic right whales,” said Erica Fuller, senior counsel at Conservation Law Foundation. “The species can’t afford to lose a single whale. Eliminating one of their strongest protections would imperil right whale’s already challenging recovery. At a time when we need stronger, not weaker, protections, this would be another short-sighted move by this administration to help special interest groups.”
The administration’s comments suggest that new technologies like satellite or acoustic monitoring can adequately detect whales and eliminate the need for speed zones. The evidence doesn’t back this up. Monitoring technologies that detect whales are improving, but they cannot replace the 2008 Vessel Speed Rule which reduces the risk that a whale will be hit and that a strike will be lethal. Right whales, which have dark skin and no fins on their backs, are notoriously hard to spot visually. Speed zones are the only effective, proven way to prevent deadly collisions, which are dangerous to boaters as well as whales.
Under current law, vessel speed limits are strategically deployed where right whales have been spotted or are most likely to be active, minimizing the impact to boaters. Since 2017, vessel strikes have killed or injured at least 27 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, including mothers and calves. With just 70 female whales able to have babies left in the entire species, increased collisions with boats and ships is an unacceptable risk.
Getting rid of speed limits would contradict the agency’s previously stated goals to protect both whales and boaters from hazardous collisions. In fact, the federal government is currently defending the existing limits in court, with support from CLF and other conservation groups. This abrupt reversal flies in the face of NOAA’s mission to protect the environment.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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