Posted: November 25, 2008

NOAA publishes compliance guide for rule requiring reduced ship speeds in right whale zones


The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published a compliance guide for a new rule requiring ships to reduce speeds to ten knots in areas where whales feed and reproduce to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. According to the NOAA publication in the Federal Register, this rule takes effect Dec. 9, 2008, and will remain in effect through Dec. 9, 2013. The compliance guide and other information regarding this rule are available online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/shipstrike.