Conservation Groups File Legal Motion to Defend Right Whale Speed Rules From Industry Lawsuit

The Center for Biological Diversity and allied conservation organizations filed a legal motion on May 11, 2026, to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the shipping industry seeking to overturn NOAA's seasonal vessel speed restriction rules for North Atlantic Right Whales. The rules — which require vessels 65 feet and longer to slow to 10 knots or less in designated time-area management zones — have been shown to reduce the risk of fatal whale strikes by up to 90%. The legal challenge targets regulations that are already in effect and represents a direct threat to one of the few concrete protections still in place for the species after the Trump administration backed legislation to delay new rope regulations until 2035. Conservation groups argued in their filing that eliminating speed restrictions, combined with the proposed decade-long delay on ropeless gear mandates, would compound existing mortality pressures on a population of fewer than 380 animals. NOAA's vessel speed rules apply along the U.S. East Coast during critical migration and calving periods.