Alaska's Mary Peltola: NOAA Overreached on Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule

The lawmaker said in a letter to NOAA the ‘proposed rule assumes new protections for whales for which NOAA Fisheries does not provide evidence of a significant threat.’

Alaska Democratic lawmaker Mary Peltola has signed on to a letter opposing NOAA’s North Atlantic right whale (NARW) vessel speed rule published last year that restricts certain vessel speeds in response to a decline in the population of whales in the United States.

In a letter to Janet Coit, the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, Peltola and other lawmakers noted the rule “would have a significant impact on marine safety and coastal economies for an entire seaboard and could potentially affect up to 63,000 vessels, according to testimony from affected stakeholders.”