Ocean Sentry
(From ap.google.com) Washington – The government on Monday recommended a speed limit for commercial ships along the Atlantic coast, where collisions with the endangered right whale threaten its existence. The rule would set a speed limit of 11.5 miles per hour (10 knots) within 23 miles (20 nautical miles) of major mid-Atlantic ports and throughout the whale”s breeding and feeding areas. The new regulation would expire in five years if not renewed.
From 1970 to 1997, researchers documented 41 right whale deaths, 29 of which were caused by ship strikes or entanglement in fishing gear.
From 1997 to 2001, about one to two right whales have died from ship strikes annually, federal officials said.
(By DINA CAPPIELLO)
