Cargo Ships Must Slow Down Off NJ, Are Hitting Whales: Congressman

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D) is asking the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enforce speed limits on cargo boats off the Jersey Shore.

Pallone said cargo ships go too fast as they approach New York Harbor, and they are hitting whales and other marine mammals. That could be what's causing the increase in whale deaths off the Jersey Shore, he speculated.

The Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act mandates all boats longer than 65 feet travel at a speed of ten knots or less in certain times and areas, specifically to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale, which is endangered.

However, this recent analysis of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data on cargo ships entering the Port of New York/New Jersey showed that the vast majority of cargo boats go faster than ten knots, which is breaking the law.

Pallone said he wants the Coast Guard off New Jersey to "go after the worst offenders."

In this Jan. 4 letter he sent to the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA, Pallone highlighted a recent report that showed 84 percent of boats such as cargo ships failed to comply with speed rules.

"More than four in five large boats fail to abide by the vessel speed rule put in place to protect highly endangered right whales and other marine life,” said Doug O'Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey. “Fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales are left on this planet. Ship strikes, along with fishing gear entanglements, are the leading causes of death, despite a speed limit at key times of year and in places where right whales congregate. Allowing large vessels to routinely ignore speed limits and break the law isn’t acceptable."

According to NOAA, vessel strikes and entanglements have caused more than 77 percent of deaths and injuries to the North Atlantic right whale since 2017.

"Over the past few years, there has been an Unusual Mortality Event for whales and other marine mammal species across the mid-Atlantic coast and the leading culprit of these deaths have been vessel strikes, which is tragic since they are entirely preventable,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, New Jersey Sierra Club Director.