In March, the NOAA Fisheries Service published a notice in the Federal Register indicating that it is considering a deregulatory action to replace the current North Atlantic right whale seasonal speed restrictions with alternative management areas and advanced, technology-based strike-avoidance measures.
The proposed change would reduce or replace existing seasonal ship speed limits that were designed to prevent vessels from striking right whales. Instead, regulators are considering using experimental technology-based detection and avoidance systems to help ships navigate around whales. The agency asserts that the proposed change is part of a broader effort to reduce regulatory burdens on maritime industries while still protecting whales.
Click here to read our May 2026 comment letter to NOAA
From our May 2026 comment letter: “Georgia Conservancy does not support the proposed deregulatory action at this time. This proposed change would reduce or replace existing seasonal ship speed limits, which studies have shown prevent vessels from striking right whales. Instead, NOAA is considering relying entirely on experimental technology-based detection and avoidance systems to help ships navigate around whales. While we understand that NOAA asserts the proposed change is part of a broader effort to reduce regulatory burdens on maritime industries while still protecting whales, we can confirm that the proposed technologies are not currently proven or consistently capable of protecting right whales or boaters.”
Ship strikes are one of the leading causes of mortality for the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species with fewer than 400 individuals remaining. NOAA reports that at least 18 right whales have been confirmed dead or observed seriously injured due to vessel strike since 2017. With only 70 breeding females left, any death caused by a ship strike is an existential threat to the survival of our Georgia State Marine Mammal.
Vessel strikes also pose a serious risk to the vessel and crew involved in the strike. In February 2022, a sport fishing vessel accidentally struck a right whale mother and calf, killing the calf and seriously injuring the mother. The vessel was damaged beyond repair, resulting in a $1.2 million total loss.
Since 2008, Federal rules have required large vessels (over 65 feet) to slow to 10 knots in coastal areas along their migratory route during calving seasons only. There is an existing safety deviation provision in the current Federal rules that allow regulated vessels to exceed 10 knots (or nautical miles per hour), if a vessel encounters conditions that impact maneuverability or safe operation of the vessel.
These speed limits are considered one of the most effective ways to prevent fatal collisions between ships and whales. Studies have found that slowing vessel speeds to 10 knots reduces a right whale’s risk of death from vessel strike by 80-90%. Slower speeds can reduce the severity of impact or allow both vessels and whales more maneuverability to avoid one another, reducing the probability of a collision happening at all.
While Georgia Conservancy agrees that we must consider the economic impact to our maritime economy, a 2020 Assessment of the Speed Rule, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources stated that “ A review of the data suggest no impact from the speed rule on the volume or economic activity at potentially affected ports. Furthermore, the yearly direct cost estimates to commercial shipping as a percent of trade value at affected East Coast ports is approximately 0.005%.”
There is currently no known technology that reliably detects or communicates the locations of all right whales across the various conditions and vessel types that occur in North Atlantic right whale habitat. There are several technologies that are in the very early stages of development, including tagging, acoustic buoys, gliders, and MITER, but none of these technologies is proven to be broadly effective or is currently able to detect and share the location of North Atlantic right whales in time to allow a ship traveling at speed to respond and avoid an imminent collision.
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) network required to notify vessels of their entry into right whale calving grounds is also still in the early stages of development. This network is not yet complete in Georgia or along the east coast migratory route of right whale mothers and calves. In addition, we still need to understand how the vessels receive the messages sent by the AIS system and how they respond to them to assess their effectiveness.
Learn more about Georgia Conservancy efforts to advance AIS technology on the Georgia Coast.
Eliminating speed restrictions now in favor of future technological advances that allow for the continuous detection of all individual right whales is akin to removing all roadway speed limits now because autonomous vehicle technology may someday eliminate car crashes. Neither of these technologies is ready to do the job of regulations that require humans to slow down giving time to react and avoid collisions that protect both right whales and us.
Therefore, Georgia Conservancy does not support the reduction or elimination of the current seasonal speed rule for right whales. We encourage NOAA to consider technology currently under development as an additional tool that should be used in conjunction with speed regulations to protect both North Atlantic right whales and ships. Furthermore, we are grateful for the investment Representative Carter’s office made in AIS network development in Georgia, and we encourage the Administration to continue investing in technology to prevent right whale deaths from ship strikes.
A Toolbox of Technologies
The regulatory changes being considered could remove the existing seasonal ship speed limits, which were designed to prevent vessels from striking right whales, in favor of “technology-based” avoidance in dynamic zones. But the question remains: is technology alone capable of protecting Georgia’s beloved state marine mammal?
In May 2026, Georgia Conservancy, along with experts and scientists, hosted a webinar to discuss the state of right whale conservation, proposed regulatory changes, and the technology being used to help save these animals.