The U.S. government has promised to take “deregulatory-focused action” in amending a vessel speed limit rule designed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The 2008 rule imposed a speed limit of 10 knots for vessels 65 feet or over traveling through right whale “seasonal management areas.” Vessel strikes and entanglements are the two biggest threats to the whales, according to NOAA Fisheries, and the agency has previously stated that those threats need to be significantly reduced for the species to recover.
“With a population of roughly 384 individuals and only 70 breeding females, the North Atlantic right whale is at serious risk of extinction if additional conservation measures to reduce entanglements and vessel strikes are not implemented quickly,” Defenders of Wildlife said in its release.
The news comes just over a year after the administration of then-U.S. President Joe Biden announced that it was abandoning a planned expansion of the speed limit to apply to smaller vessels. The administration had pushed to implement the expanded rule over the objections of many in the commercial marine and fishing sectors, but ultimately withdrew the change after Biden lost the 2024 election. The fierce opposition to the rule change helped doom it, with NOAA Fisheries admitting that it did not have time to review and respond to public feedback before Biden left office.
“Despite its best efforts, NMFS does not have sufficient time to finalize this regulation in this administration due to the scope and volume of public comments,” the agency noted.
Now, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has moved to return to the rulemaking process. While the government’s proposal has not yet been released, the administration has indicated that it is likely to restrict, not expand, the rule.
“This deregulatory-focused action will seek information from industry experts, coastal communities, and other relevant stakeholders on ways to reduce unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens while ensuring responsible conservation practices for endangered North Atlantic right whales,” NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Rachel Hager told Greenwire.
The Trump administration’s move has drawn criticism from conservation groups, who pointed out that a right whale had been found dead off of the coast of Virginia 10 February, right after the government posted about the impending action.
“Another female right whale – the future of this species – has lost her life. We urgently need more right whale protections, not fewer. The Trump administration’s apparent determination to weaken the vessel speed rule could not come at a worse time,” Defenders of Wildlife Senior Attorney Jane Davenport said in a release. “Although developing technologies may one day augment mandatory speed limits, we cannot run a high-tech experiment on the right whale’s survival.”
Though 2025 was a positive year for the whales’ recovery, with no reported mortalities and a breeding season that saw the births of 22 calves, there have already been two reported right whale mortalities in 2026.
The Trump administration’s decision to revisit the 2008 rule comes at the same time it is being challenged in court. A Florida boat captain who sped through as seasonal management area in a 110-foot-long superyacht in 2022 has sued NOAA Fisheries in an attempt to avoid a USD 14,250 (EUR 13,190) fine. The Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing the captain before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claims NOAA Fisheries never had statutory authority to implement the 2008 rule.
Conservation groups have filed a brief urging the court to uphold the speed limit.
“There’s no question that the federal government has the legal authority to protect North Atlantic right whales by issuing this speed limit rule,” Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) Oceans Legal Director Kristen Monsell said in a release. “The speed limit rule has been in place for almost two decades and has no doubt saved the lives of critically endangered right whales. Each individual matters for the recovery of this species, and federal officials have a legal obligation to make sure protections are enforced.”
CBD claimed 27 North Atlantic right whales have been killed or injured by vessel strikes since 2017.
