- In an effort to prevent the imposition of stricter speed limits on boats and ships along the U.S. East Coast, a Republican congressman from Georgia proposed a bill that would prohibit the use of federal funds to implement the rule change.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had proposed expanding the geographical area and vessel types subject to speed restrictions to safeguard the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
- The bill suggests that NOAA should first develop and deploy new technology for monitoring Atlantic waters to aid in whale protection before implementing the enhanced slowdown rules.
A Georgia congressman moved Friday to stop a federal agency from imposing new speed restrictions on boats and ships in order to protect critically endangered whales.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed a year ago to broaden the geographical area of its seasonal speed restrictions along the U.S. East Coast and expand the types of vessels required to slow down. The rule change is intended to protect North Atlantic right whales, a species that scientists say is perilously near extinction with a dwindling population of less than 340.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican whose district includes Georgia’s 100-mile coast, introduced a bill Friday that would prohibit NOAA from spending federal dollars to implement the rule change until its parent agency, the Department of Commerce, develops and deploys new technology to monitor Atlantic waters for right whales.
Carter said the enhanced slowdown rules would be restrictive enough to cause charter fishing boats to quit the business and to disrupt the efficiency of busy seaports like the Port of Savannah.
“We care about the whales too,” Carter said in phone interview. “We want to protect them, but not at the expense of destroying our commercial fishing and slowing down our port traffic to the point where it has an enormous impact on our economy.”
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