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Federal organizers abandon a proposal to expand the speed limits in the oceans that are designed to protect the right whales in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The whales, which gives birth off the coast of Georgia in the winter, are approaching extinction: only 370 whales remain, and ship collisions are one of the main reasons for their death.
The marine industry groups praised this step to abandon the base that they criticized as very loose, while whale defenders said they were disappointed.
“The whales will suffer due to the failure of the Biden administration,” said Jeep Berogan, the campaign director at the supportive Oceania Group.
There are already some seasonal speed limits on large ships designed to reduce the risk of strikes during times of a year when it is known that whales are present in certain areas – such as off the coast of Georgia during the winter birth season.
In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggested expanding these restrictions to include small boats and applying them to larger areas of the ocean for longer periods. The agency also suggested making some voluntary speed limits mandatory.
Whale scientists and defenders celebrated the proposal and pushed to adopt it because small boats can kill the right whales. They also stressed the urgent necessity, as the number of whales in the northern Atlantic declined, and the change of whales due to climate change.
But marine industry groups opposed the proposed changes, which they claimed may harm fishing industries, boat riding and other relevant companies. Among other criticisms, they emphasized that small boats often need the ability to move quickly to respond safely to changing ocean conditions. They also said that the bases will eliminate or change thousands of entertainment fishing trips, which are important for coastal economies.
“The numerous blind points of the base could have led to severe consequences for the safety of boats and access to them, the economic vitality of coastal societies and marine manufacturers, and a livelihood of countless small companies.” statement.
He added that Al -Qaeda “failed to distinguish between the large ships crossing the ocean and small entertainment boats, which could not be more different from each other.”
The base has never been implemented, and now the agency is withdrawing it a few days before the new administration entered the White House – a step that the whales defenders said is political, based on its timing.
Congress can review and cancel some of the recent measures taken by federal agencies, under a law known as the Congress Review Law. This often happens when a new presidential administration and a new Congress takes responsibility, as it gives them the ability to cancel the recent measures taken by the previous administration. Using this mechanism, Congress can also prevent agencies from taking similar action in the future.
Whale defenders are concerned that this is exactly what the Trump administration and the Congress controlled by Republicans would have been doing if they entered into force during the review period: they could have turned the base and prevented future changes in the rules of ships to protect the right whales.
“So the real deadline for the Biden administration was last summer,” said Berogan. “They knew they needed to move last summer to provide permanent protection for the right whales in North Atlantic, but with elections and other things, they chose not to do so.”
Whale and scientists defenders will continue to pressure to expand the right to protect the right whales, despite what Jessica Redfern, a aquaculture in New England, described as a “dangerous setback” in the efforts made to save the right whales from extinction.
“I will have hope, because I have hope that we can save this type,” she said.
The basin maintains one of the tallest correct whales research programs in the country, and Redfern said the evidence is clear: Whales can recover, “if we stop killing them.”
