WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today in Charleston voiced his opposition to the proposed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) rule regarding the North Atlantic Right Whale. He received a briefing from the Charleston Harbor Pilots, who are highly trained individuals that ensure safe ship movements at the Port of Charleston.

The Port of Charleston is an economic engine for the state of South Carolina and the rest of the southeast. NOAA’s proposal would have the unintended consequence of gravely harming operations at the Port, and endangering pilots and pilot boat crews. It would negatively impact the maritime supply chain and raise the likelihood of marine accidents in entrance channels of East Coast ports.

Graham said, “The Biden Administration is proposing limiting boat speed to 10 knots, which will dramatically affect the safety of the harbor pilots operating here in Charleston, in the name of protecting whales. Not one whale has been hit by a harbor pilot boat here in Charleston. To mandate 10 knots is going to put the lives of these men and women at risk with no benefits to the whale.”

The proposed change would expand the mandatory speed restriction to 10 knots or less in designated areas of the ocean to include vessels 35-65 feet in length, which would affect the entire East Coast. Consequently, recreational boaters taking a one-way hundred-mile offshore fishing trip, which currently takes approximately three hours of travel time, would see that time increase to a ten-hour one-way trip. 

Approximately 5.1 million recreational fishing trips were taken in this region by vessels 35-65 feet in length since 2008. The chance of a 35-65 foot recreational vessel striking a Right Whale during an offshore fishing trip is less than one in 1,000,000.

Graham continued, “It gets worse. Sports fishing is one of the biggest tourism generators on the coast of South Carolina. People who build sports fishing boats here in our state have told me that from their point of view, this regulation would be a death blow.”

The proposed rule would cause significant harm to charter and recreational boaters, boat builders, and fishermen. Angler spending on recreational offshore fishing trips – which would be impacted by this proposed rule – is estimated at more than $15 million per year. These trips are likely to be cancelled or significantly shortened if vessels are subject to a 10-knot speed restriction.

Graham concluded, “This offends me on numerous levels. This is the federal government out of control. You’re not helping the whale, you’re destroying the shipping industry. You’re putting humans at risk without helping the whale. You are destroying a way of life on the coast of South Carolina that we’ve enjoyed since we’ve been a state, for no good reason.”

“The best thing to do to save a whale is to come up with better technology to locate whales and pass that information onto ships. That’s my proposal. There’s plenty of technology available that we can use to monitor whales without putting harbor pilots’ lives at risk and destroying the sport fishing industry.”

Timeline and Background on the proposed NOAA rule regarding the Right Whale.

• August 2022 – NOAA proposed new vessel speed rule
• October 2022 – Senator Graham led Senators T. Scott, Burr, Tillis, Rubio, and R. Scott in a letter to NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad expressing concern over the pilot boat safety and economic impact of proposed rule.
• July 2023 – The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the FY24 Commerce Justice Science (CJS) bill with report language Senator Graham supported, which read in part:
  • “…Committee is concerned that as part of the development of the proposed rule, [NOAA] did not engage with the recreational boating and fishing community, ports, nor other stakeholders that would likely be affected by the rule.”
  • “Before NOAA issues interim or final rules to protect endangered whales, the agency shall engage with affected stakeholders and incorporate relevant comments.”
  • “Further, the Committee has heard from other Member offices regarding difficulties receiving fulsome and timely responses to congressional inquiries regarding the proposed rule.”
  • “NOAA is further encouraged to work with other Federal agencies… to support technology development, test and evaluation of whale monitoring technologies.”
• A decision from NOAA is expected later this year.

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