PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — December 2, 2013 — The temporary speed limits on ships along the Atlantic coast intended to protect North Atlantic right whales are set to expire Dec. 9, despite a proposal by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make them permanent.
NOAA expects to make an announcement about the proposal in the next week or so, NOAA spokeswoman Connie Barclay said Wednesday. The federal agency first made the proposal in June, and then accepted public comments until Aug. 6.
The speed reductions were enacted in 2008 for five years. Whale conservation groups also want them to be made permanent. But shipping industry representatives are asking to renew limits only for another fixed number of years to allow more analysis of whether the limits protect whales.
The restrictions require vessels 65 feet and longer to reduce speeds to 10 knots or less during certain times of the year in areas where whales calve, feed and migrate along the East Coast. The designated areas are called "seasonal management areas."
In Cape Cod Bay, the limits apply from Jan. 1 through May 15; off Race Point in Provincetown, from March 1 through April 30; and in the Great South Channel, east of Chatham, from April 1 through July 31.
The rule allows vessels to go faster than 10 knots to maintain a safe maneuvering speed, but exceptions have to be documented. There are also "dynamic management areas" where mariners are encouraged, but not required, to avoid whales or reduce speeds to 10 knots. These areas are announced as needed by NOAA.