There has been a great amount of misinformation about the proposed vessel speed rule to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale…
So we decided to fact check it.
Transcript:
Rep. Buddy Carter: The proposed rule would cause grave safety issues for recreational vessels and pilot vessels alike, as it presents a safety concern for traversing the shipping channels and safety issues at sea. You could imagine trying to drive a boat in the sea at eleven and a half miles per hour. I mean, it’s just dangerous to think about it.
Rep. Buddy Carter: Unfortunately, if this rule goes into effect, boaters who use 35 foot or larger vessels will simply not take fishing trips in the market will die for these kinds of vessels.
Rep. Harriet Hageman: Well, and what’s interesting to me is that when we’re going after your industry or this administration is going after and attempting to destroy this industry, and as you say, disrupt and impact the supply chain, it will impact our ability to bring goods and materials into the country.
Mr. Jeff Strong: Some people referenced, they were avid boaters before. Anybody who’s an avid boater, if you know you’re 80 miles offshore and you’re restricted to traveling ten knots and all of a sudden the wind in the afternoon picks up to 25 knots, it is totally dangerous and unsafe to travel in 10 knots, 80 miles offshore in a 25 knot wind.
Rep. Jared Huffman: The point about putting boaters in danger is exactly why the draft language of NOAA’s rule has an exception for any situation that would risk to the health or lives or property of people. So I hope we can kind of dispel that particular straw man.
Mr. Jeff Strong: And the auto industry is way out ahead of us on the technology side of things where a lot of the technology does exist, but it’s not well integrated, which is what some of the bills speak to.
Dr. Jessica Redfern: What we do know is that vessel strikes are killing whales. And I want to- you asked about the and the studies that are showing right whales headed towards extinction. I want to make one point about this, because those studies also show that if we can eliminate human caused mortality, the species can recover.
Defenders Of Wildlife works on the ground, in the courts, and on Capitol Hill to protect and restore imperiled wildlife and habitats across North America.
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