The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (“NOAA Fisheries”) yesterday for failing to analyze how California’s designated shipping lanes harm whales and sea turtles by increasing vessel strikes and noise pollution.
At least 10 gray whales have been killed by probable ship strikes in the Bay Area so far this year, while several others have died from undetermined causes. The lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit also challenges air pollution from ocean vessels.
“Commercial shipping is proving deadly to whales and sea turtles, but it doesn’t have to be that way if federal officials get their act together,” said David Derrick, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Rerouting and slowing ships in hotspots can prevent strikes, curb noise and air pollution, and save endangered marine life. The Trump administration is legally required to look at how to minimize harm to whales and sea turtles, and officials need to take this problem seriously and make a plan.”
About 80 whales are killed by ship strikes off the West Coast each year, according to one study. Ship strikes are the leading cause of death for gray, blue, fin, and humpback whales off California’s coast. Because most dead whales sink and go unobserved, scientists say the actual number of ship strikes could be up to 20 times higher.
“Whales are dying preventable deaths,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth. “It shouldn’t take another lawsuit to force federal officials to fulfill mandated duties to assess and manage risks to whales from shipping traffic, yet here we are.”
In December 2022, a federal court ruled in favor of the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth in their lawsuit challenging the failure of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. The suit asserted that the agencies did not protect endangered whales from being struck by ships using ports in the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and San Francisco Bay areas.
The existing designated shipping lanes route vessel traffic through several “hot spots” where whales congregate, including the Santa Barbara Channel and the northern approach to San Francisco Bay. In a 2017 analysis known as a biological opinion, the National Marine Fisheries Service concluded that the designations would cause no “take” of any whales or sea turtles. However, a 2022 court ruling rejected those conclusions, finding that the agency’s determination “defies logic” and that it is “undisputed” that whales are struck and killed by ship strikes within the lanes.
The court ruling invalidated the 2017 analysis, but the agencies have not taken steps since then to complete a new biological opinion. They have also failed to consider measures proven to reduce ship strikes, such as mandatory speed limits, which would save the lives of many marine animals and reduce air pollution.
