Proposed Rule Threatens Marine Industry

The clock is ticking – a rushed rule to implement 10-knot restrictions from Massachusetts to Florida for boats 35 feet and larger could devastate boating and sportfishing industry on the Atlantic Coast. The National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within NOAA, is proposing amendments to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule that would: • Broaden the current 10-knot speed limit to include boats 35 feet and larger (previously set at 65 feet) • Expand the zones from discrete calving areas to almost the entire East Coast as far out as 100 nautical miles • Extend the go-slow mandate for up to seven months a year The odds of a vessel from 35 to 65 feet striking a right whale are less than one in a million. Help hit the pause button on this proposed rule and hear what The Buckskin Billfish has to say when discussing this proposed rule change with our very own HMY Yacht Sales Professional Tim Gredick.