A new petition filed with NOAA/NMFS by environmental organizations calls for extreme vessel measures in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the recently discovered Rice’s whale according to officials with The Billfish Foundation.
The petition calls for a “year-round, ten-knot vessel speed reduction zone” for all vessels operating within the area between “100 m and 400 m deep. The area would cover from Pensacola, FL, to just south of Tampa, FL (i.e. 87.5° W to 27.5° N), plus an additional 10 km around that area. If all requests within the petition are implemented, significant disruptions to marine interstate commerce and recreational usage will suffer, including recreational fishing, pleasure boating, commercial fishing, towing operations, tour vessels and more.
The designated area covers much of the DeSoto Canyon, considered the Core Habitat Area, which begins at State jurisdictions. The petition also calls for the following:
- No vessel transits at night.
- Vessels transiting through the zone must report their plans to NMFS, utilize visual observers, and maintain a separation distance of 500 m from Rice’s whales.
- Use and operate an Automatic Identification System, or notify NMFS of transits through the zone.
- Report deviations from these requirements to NMFS within 24 hours.
To stay up-to-date on all things billfish by signing up for our monthly newsletter here and follow us on social media, @TheBillfishFoundation. Want to further support our foundation? Become a member, donate, or visit our online shop.
