June 4, 2026 — In a letter sent to the assistant administrator for NOAA fisheries last week, the New England Aquarium says it opposes efforts by the National Marine Fisheries Service to deregulate vessel speed limits designed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The speed limits were established in 2008 in management areas where right whales were observed during their migration. But earlier this year, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service’s posted an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking of a “possible deregulatory action” to its website.
In its letter, the aquarium cited studies that say vessel strikes remain a threat to the small population of right whales left on the East Coast.
Between 2020 and 2025, 22 right whale vessel strikes were detected in U.S. waters, of which six were fatal and two resulted in serious injuries.