"As endangered whales begin to migrate past San Francisco Bay, there’s a new effort to protect them from getting struck by cargo ships, a leading cause of death.
From May 1 to Dec. 15, federal officials are asking vessels to voluntarily reduce their speeds to 10 knots (11 mph) or less in the Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries, an area from San Francisco to Point Arena (Mendocino County).
It’s the first time the federal government has asked ships to slow down in such a large part of the Northern California coast.
The initiative gives whales “more time to avoid a strike,” and makes strikes less likely to be lethal if they occur, said William J. Douros, West Coast regional director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in a letter also signed by representatives of the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency."
Tara Duggan reports for the San Francisco Chronicle April 27, 2022.
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