OUR EDITORIAL BOARD'S OPINION

By Mike King

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Behemoth right whales are starting to congregate along the Georgia-Florida coast this time of year to give birth, but there are so few of them left -- about 350 or so, scientists estimate -- that whale watchers can call many by name.

Protected since 1935 from being hunted, these giant mammals nevertheless face a perilous journey. Commercial vessels going in and out of harbors on the Eastern seaboard strike and kill at least two or three a year. A similar number are thought to be killed every year without being discovered.

Now, after two years of rule making, protection for the right whales of the North Atlantic has been enhanced by federal regulations requiring ships over 65 feet in length to slow to 10 knots or less within 20 miles of the coastal inlets where the whales congregate. The rule will take effect in mid-December, at the start of the right whale birthing season.

Environmental groups first asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a 30-mile barrier for the whales in 2006, but the Office of Management and Budget of the Bush administration and the shipping industry fought the measure, claiming there was little science to support the speed limit. But whale watchers and others who have documented the decline of the species in recent years kept fighting, eventually accepting NOAA's revised proposal to set a 20-mile distance. The agency also set a five-year expiration on the speed restrictions, which can be renewed if there is evidence that it is helping reduce the number of deaths.

"We are very happy that for the first time there are speed restrictions on the East Coast specifically for right whales," said Vicki Cornish, vice president of marine wildlife conservation for the Ocean Conservancy. "Hopefully, there will also be a benefit for other whales, including humpback whales and fin whales."

Right whales are so prized for their oil-rich blubber that they were nearly driven into extinction in the 1800s. They can grow to more than 60 feet in length and prefer near-shore waters, navigating the coastline exceedingly slowly. Females come south to warmer waters in early winter to give birth before returning northward with their calves, and are vulnerable to vessels clipping through ship channels.

The Georgia Port Authority, which initially sided with the industry and opposed the speed restriction, has tried to help by paying for high-tech buoys along shipping channels that pick up the sounds of whales and transmit the information to the Coast Guard. That data can be combined with aerial surveillance to warn commercial vessels to be on the lookout when whales and their calves are in the vicinity.

Because of the unique life cycles and migration patterns of the species -- researchers know little, for instance, about where the males go and what they do while the females come south to winter -- saving the right whale should be a high priority for state and federal environmental officials. The more we know the better we will be at ensuring their survival. That's why even more protection is needed, including restricting the size and number of recreational marinas along the Georgia coast to make the whales and their calves less vulnerable to smaller vessels. Commercial shipping is an important segment of Georgia's economy. It can and will survive with this small, but meaningful, restriction on sharing the coastal waters with a species that needs as much protection as we can give.

-- Mike King, for the editorial board (mking@ajc.com).