Groups sue feds over California coast whale deaths

Carly Nairn

OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — Two environmental nonprofits filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday, claiming the organizations haven’t done enough to prevent whale strikes in California shipping lanes.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth filed the lawsuit for injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, asserting that the government agencies are responsible for analyzing and reducing noise and air pollution associated with large vessels around whale and sea turtle habitats.

“The population of leatherback sea turtles off the U.S. West Coast has declined to such low levels that more than one human-caused mortality every six years will impede its chance to rebound,” they noted.  “This means even occasional ship strikes can have population-wide impacts.”

According to the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, so far this year, at least 10 gray whales have likely been killed by ship strikes in the Bay Area. Overall, about 80 whale deaths along the West Coast can possibly be attributed to ship strikes in one year, with one study claiming strikes to be the leading cause of death for blue, fin, gray and humpback whales. All four Pacific populations of the species are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The plaintiffs noted that as part of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, the Coast Guard “must undertake a study of the potential traffic density and the need for safe access routes,” including environmental considerations.

“As a matter of policy, the Coast Guard does not comment on pending litigation,” a Coast Guard representative said in an email.

The two nonprofits claim the shipping traffic in existing designated shipping lane routes moves through “hot spots” where whales migrate, gather and forage, including the Santa Barbara Channel and the northern approach to the San Francisco Bay.

“Now that we have filed suit, we will push the case toward fast scheduling and early summary relief to get whales the protections they need and deserve as soon as possible,” David Derrick, a staff attorney for the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an email.

“We’ll seek to secure any interim protective orders: For example, mandatory vessel speed reductions or traffic rerouting in whale hot spots while the formal consultation proceeds,” he said.

A federal court ruled in favor of the Center and Friends of the Earth in December 2022 after environmental advocates sued the Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard, claiming the organizations didn’t protect endangered whales from strike deaths while in the Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay port regions.

“We hope this lawsuit will result in concrete policy changes and long‐term protections for whales, sea turtles, and their habitats off the California coast,” Derrick said.

“We hope the court will compel these agencies to adopt complete consultation that recognizes the harms from shipping traffic on protected whales and turtles,” he added.

“This could make the Pacific off California a much, much safer place for whales.”