Shipping limits may protect right whales

WASHINGTON - In an effort to protect North Atlantic right whales, one of the world's most endangered large whales, the Bush administration is considering speed and routing restrictions for East Coast shipping.

The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans to release details by month's end of the first step in the process of issuing the new rules.

Only about 300 right whales exist in U.S. and Canadian waters of the western North Atlantic, the species depleted largely by centuries of commercial whaling. Now, accidental collisions with ships or entanglements with nets threaten recovery. Adult right whales, which can live about 70 years, range from 45 to 60 feet long and weigh 30 to 80 tons.

Every December, pregnant right whales migrate south to give birth to calves in the warmer water off the Florida coast, from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce. They can range as far out as 40 miles from shore, or come close enough to be seen from the beach.

The proposal to regulate boat speeds in certain zones echoes controversial federal and state efforts to protect a smaller marine mammal common to Florida, the manatee.

The whales' presence off Florida has already forced some changes in the state. Until the mid 1990s the U.S. Navy used to conduct gunnery practice in prime calving ground near the mouth of the St. Johns River. To protect the whales, the Navy moved its practice range well to the east, even though it cost the taxpayers more for the ships to travel into the Atlantic.

Aleria Jensen, a fishery biologist with NOAA's Office of Protected Resources, said Tuesday that ship strikes have been responsible for an average of one to two right whale deaths per year over the last decade.

"At this point, the North Atlantic right whale population status is so critical that even the loss of a single individual may impact the species' ability to recover," she said.

Jensen's office in Silver Spring, Md., which is responsible for protecting endangered marine species, intends to set uniform speed limits after receiving 60 days of public comment and holding meetings on the East Coast.

- Times staff writer Craig Pittman contributed to this report.

World and national headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright