New England Aquarium pens letter opposing changes to vessel speed limit

MAINE PUBLIC • June 4, 2026

In a letter to NOAA fisheries, the New England Aquarium says it opposes efforts by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to deregulate vessel speed limits designed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. The speed limits were established in 2008 in management areas where right whales were observed during their migration. The NMFS has posted an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking of a “possible deregulatory action” to its website. The aquarium cited studies that say vessel strikes remain a threat to the small population of right whales left on the East Coast. Between 2020 and 2025, 22 right whale vessel strikes were detected in U.S. waters, of which six were fatal and two resulted in serious injuries.