The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has sued the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to find out more about the process behind the government’s decision to roll back a vessel speed limit designed to protect North Atlantic right whales.
“The public has a right to know who’s behind a government process that could condemn these whales to extinction,” CBD Oceans Legal Director Kristen Monsell said in a release. “Right whales are facing threats from all directions, and the speed rule is one of their few protections. Federal officials should be making decisions based on science and forward thinking, not industry cronyism and short-term profits at the expense of the ocean’s future.”
First implemented in 2008, the rule sets a speed limit of 10 knots for vessels at least 65 feet in length traveling through “seasonal management areas” – spaces where North Atlantic right whales are known to gather. The whales are an endangered species with less than 400 left in the wild, and NOAA Fisheries claims vessel strikes are one of the biggest threats to the species’ recovery.
U.S. President Joe Biden attempted to expand the speed limit rule during his administration by applying it to smaller vessels, but was unable to complete the rulemaking process before the end of his term. In withdrawing the proposal, the government noted that there was simply too much public feedback for it to process and respond to before Trump took office in January 2025.
The Trump administration quickly moved to reverse course, announcing its intent to take “deregulatory-focused action" on the rule in February 2026. Less than a month later, NOAA Fisheries issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to solicit feedback on modifying or rolling back the rule.
“The goal of this initiative is to reduce unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens on the regulated community by replacing current seasonal speed restrictions with alternative management areas and advanced, technology-based, strike-avoidance measures that maintain or enhance conservation efficacy for the endangered North Atlantic right whale,” NOAA Fisheries said in its announcement. “The agency intends to craft durable programs that consider both conservation and the economic vitality of coastal communities.”
The administration has not revealed any additional details about its plans to date.
In February, conservation legal organization CBD filed Freedom of Information Act requests demanding the administration turn over records related to its decision to issue that advanced notice. However, the government never responded to those requests.
On 7 July, CBD filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, demanding it provide information on “which individuals, federal officials, or industry groups may have influenced and lobbied” against the 2008 rule in alignment with its Freedom of Information Act requests.
“The requested records are vital to understanding the basis, rationale, and likely impacts of NOAA’s potential repeal of the Ship Speed Rule,” the group stated in its lawsuit. “Such information is necessary for meaningful public participation in the rulemaking process. Without timely disclosure, the Center and its members cannot effectively understand or respond to the agency’s proposal, which undermines FOIA’s core purpose to ensure government transparency and accountability.”
Simultaneously, the 2008 rule is being challenged in court by a Florida boat captain who was fined USD 14,250 (EUR 13,190) after violating the rule while speeding in a 110-foot-long superyacht in 2022. In May, CBD and other conservation groups asked to defend the rule in court, arguing that the administration would not adequately defend it given its intention to roll it back.
