On August 19, 2021, the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute sent the following letter to the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and the US Coast Guard, urging these agencies to put in place mandatory speed limits for large commercial vessels that threaten whales with ship strikes along the coast of California. Currently, ships speeds are voluntary, and as many as half of the commercial vessels ignore the limits.
Ms. Janet Coit
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries
1315 East-West Highway, 14th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Admiral Karl Schultz
Commandant
US Coast Guard
2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
SE Washington, D.C. 20593
RE: Need for Mandatory Slow Speed Limits on Large Vessels in Whale Habitat on the West Coast
Dear Assistant Administrator Coit and Commandant Schultz:
On behalf of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute and our concerned members, we encourage your agencies to make slow speed limits mandatory for vessels entering and leaving major ports on the West Coast, particularly Los Angeles/Long Beach and San Francisco/Oakland, to protect the whale populations there.
As you know, a large number of whales, protected by the US Endangered Species Act and the US Marine Mammal Protection Act, have been found washed up dead along the California coast this year, with many showing clear signs of having been struck by large commercial and even military vessels.
Over the past three years, at least 27 whales were struck and killed by ships in California waters alone. Scientists believe this number may represent a small fraction of the total number of whales that have been struck and sunk, never to be recorded. For every whale that washes ashore and is recorded, as many as ten to twenty whales may have been struck.
These are significant population numbers for endangered species of whales, including blue, fin, and humpback whales, as well as the delisted gray whale. In addition to ship strikes, these whales are struggling to survive entanglement in fisheries gear, ocean noise, and global warming interference with their food supply.
Large vessels traveling at high speed are not just a danger to whales, but also threaten small boaters. Furthermore, companies that adhere to the voluntary speed limits are put at an economic disadvantage by other vessels that ignore the limits. Slower speeds also reduce air pollution close to shore and saves on the shipping companies’ fuel costs.
It may have been appropriate to institute voluntary speed limits for commercial vessels at first, but it has been recorded that as many as half of all ships in California waters are ignoring these speed limits.
A mandatory speed limit for large commercial and military vessels entering whale habitat waters of California of 10 knots should be instituted by your agencies as soon as possible to protect these whales. Further steps might include posting observers on the bows of ships entering whale habitat waters, to communicate with the helm to avoid collisions with whales and setting up shipping lanes to further reduce interactions with vessels and whales.
We encourage your agencies to work with the shipping lines and the military to address these problems and bring the ship strikes on whales to an end.
Your involvement is critical in safeguarding whales in these coastal areas of vulnerability. Thank you for considering our recommendations and for taking action to protect whales as required by law.
Sincerely,
David Phillips Mark J. Palmer
Executive Director Associate Director
We hope you will donate to support the efforts of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute to protect whales, dolphins, and their ocean homes. Your donations are what keep us going, and your donations are tax deductible. Thank you – we appreciate your support.
