Proposed Killer Whale Rules

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access:

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), proposes regulations under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act to prohibit vessels from approaching killer whales within 200 yards and from parking in the path of whales for vessels in inland waters of Washington State. The proposed regulations would also prohibit vessels from entering a conservation area during a defined season.

Certain vessels would be exempt from the prohibitions. The purpose of this action is to protect killer whales from interference and noise associated with vessels. In the final rule announcing the endangered listing of Southern Resident killer whales we identified disturbance and sound associated with vessels as a potential contributing factor in the recent decline of this population. The Recovery Plan for Southern Resident killer whales calls for evaluating current guidelines and assessing the need for regulations and/or protected areas. We developed this proposed rule after considering comments submitted in response to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) and preparing a draft environmental assessment (EA). We are requesting comments on the proposed regulations and the draft EA

Comments must be received by NMFS no later than October 27, 2009
Read the entire announcement at the Federal Register for the address

Read the Draft EA from the NWR [PDF]

Read the Proposed Rule Q&A from the NWR [PDF]

Read the Proposed Vessel Regulations for Southern Resident Killer Whales from the NWR