MAINE PUBLIC • July 21, 2021
A new report finds that a majority of vessels along the Atlantic coast are flouting speed limits put in place to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Conservation organization Oceana tracked vessel speeds between 2017 and 2020 in special speed limited zones, established by NOAA to protect whales from ship collisions. There are no mandatory slow zones off the immediate Maine coast, but the report finds about 65% of vessels are failing to observe voluntary slow zones in the Gulf of Maine.