Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Proposed Boating Speed Limit Comment Period Extended

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced today that the comment period for the new proposed boating speed limits will be extend from August 25th to October 5th. We first reported on the proposal for federally mandated speed limits a few weeks ago and are hopeful that anglers will take advantage of the extended deadline and voice their opinions. More details are available in our first post on the boating speed limit, but essentially a 10 knot per hour speed limit would be enforced within a 30 mile radius of both the Wilmington and Morehead City ports for all vessels greater than 65 feet in order to help prevent whale and ship collisions. While the protection of coastal species is important to every fisherman, many doubt the effectiveness of the proposed 10 knot speed limits as whale and shop collisions are almost unheard of. The economic impact on larger charter boats would also be significant since the speed limits would add hours to offshore fishing trips. More on the speed limit and extension is available from the New Bern Sun Journal; comments may be emailed directly to shipstrike.comments@noaa.gov.

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