Public Hearings Scheduled for Plan to Reduce Ship Strikes of North Atlantic Right Whales; Comment Period Extended Until September 15 On June 1, NOAA Fisheries published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to alert the public about a proposed strategy to reduce mortalities of North Atlantic right whales that result from vessel collisions. Copies of the ANPR and background documents can be obtained at
North Atlantic right whales are highly endangered, and minimizing mortalities that result from ship strikes is essential to their recovery. The plan proposes measures such as potential routing changes for vessels, speed reductions, and the use of dynamic management areas. NOAA Fisheries decided to extend the comment period so that all Federal, State and local government agencies, as well as non-government organizations and interested members of the public will have additional time to submit comments. The ANPR contains instructions for submitting comments; all comments are due by September 15, 2004. Five regional public hearings will be held beginning July 20 and ending August 3. For the complete schedule, go to: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/prot_res/news/whale.htm.
Public Hearings Scheduled for Plan to Reduce Ship Strikes of North Atlantic Right Whales; Comment Period Extended Until September 15
On June 1, NOAA Fisheries published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to alert the public about a proposed strategy to reduce mortalities of North Atlantic right whales that result from vessel collisions. Copies of the ANPR and background documents can be obtained at
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/ under the link for “Recent News and Hot Topics” and the heading “Ship Strike Strategy”.North Atlantic right whales are highly endangered, and minimizing mortalities that result from ship strikes is essential to their recovery. The plan proposes measures such as potential routing changes for vessels, speed reductions, and the use of dynamic management areas. NOAA Fisheries decided to extend the comment period so that all Federal, State and local government agencies, as well as non-government organizations and interested members of the public will have additional time to submit comments. The ANPR contains instructions for submitting comments; all comments are due by September 15, 2004. Five regional public hearings will be held beginning July 20 and ending August 3. For the complete schedule, go to: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/prot_res/news/whale.htm.