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NMMA is calling on the recreational boating and fishing industry to submit comment to NOAA regarding its proposed North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule, which poses numerous setbacks to recreational fishing and boating, and if implemented, will have unintended consequences for the public.

Comments may be submitted through the industry’s grassroots platform, Boating United, in two easy steps. Please click here to submit comment. The deadline to submit comment is Monday, October 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

NOAA’s rule would:

• Broaden the current 10-knot speed restriction to include vessels 35 feet and larger (down from 65 feet)
• Expand the go-slow zones to include virtually the entire Atlantic Coast, plus 90 miles from shore in some areas
• Extend these zone restrictions as long as seven months a year

“NOAA’s proposed rule severely underestimates the financial impacts on the recreational fishing and boating industry, the largest contributing sector to America’s $689 billion outdoor recreation economy,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. “NOAA must pause implementation of its rule and incorporate key stakeholder feedback and data. Without serious revisions, the economic health of coastal communities, small marine business – and those businesses who rely on a robust fishing and boating economy – as well as thousands of jobs along the East Coast are at risk.”

The recreational boating industry with gather tomorrow, Friday, October 28 at 9 a.m. at the 2022 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, for a press conference focused on the proposed rule. The press conference will take place at the Viking display at the Bahia Mar Yachting Center’s D-Dock.

Stakeholders who are attending FLIBS are encourage to join the industry at the press conference, alongside NMMA President Frank Hugelmeyer, and call on NOAA to pause its rule and gather input from key stakeholders in order to make serious, much-needed revisions to the rule.

To learn more about the proposed rule, please visit www.nmma.org/noaa

For questions or additional information on the NOAA Right Whale Vessel Speed Reduction Rule, please contact Clay Crabtree at [email protected]