Speed limits are one of the modest reforms being fought by the oil and gas industry that could help save the Rice’s whale—a unique species that lives only in the Gulf of Mexico and numbers fewer than 50 individuals.
Here’s how to help.
Melissa Gaskill
The Gulf of Mexico has its own whale species. But blink and it may be gone.
Last year, scientists decided that a whale known to inhabit the Gulf of Mexico is a distinct species, Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei), rather than a subspecies of Bryde’s whale.
Genetic analysis suggests there were once hundreds if not thousands of these whales in the Gulf, but the current population hovers around 50. Its small population and limited habitat put the species at high risk of extinction, particularly from the impacts of oil and gas development, including oil spills, seismic blasting, and ship strikes. Close to 20 percent of the population was killed in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, which affected nearly half of their habitat.
“If things were good, you would think this species could recover from the effects of that spill,” Michael Jasny, who manages the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) marine mammal project, tells Deceleration. “But things aren’t hunky dory, and the oil and gas industry continues to harm the whale and oppose measures to keep it from sliding further.
“I increasingly see this whale as a symbol of the indifference of the oil and gas industry, which is just fighting tooth and nail against efforts to bring it back.”
The most critical step at this point, Jasny says, is reducing deaths from vessel strikes. Although they feed at depth, these animals spend considerable time near the surface. The Gulf is crisscrossed by busy shipping lanes, many of them cutting right through the whale’s habitat (see a graphic here). A 2020 analysis by the National Marine Fisheries Service (Table 49) showed that oil and gas service vessels accounted for 32 percent of the vessel strike risk.
Earthjustice, NRDC, Healthy Gulf, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and the New England Aquarium petitioned NOAA in 2021 to establish a 10-knot (11 mph) ship speed limit along the northern Gulf coast of Florida. NOAA has authority to do so under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and thousands of people commented in support of the petition, but the agency denied it.
Speed limits for large commercial ships are a standard mitigation in many parts of the world to reduce air pollution and impacts on marine mammals, Jasny says. “Why shouldn’t the Gulf conserve its species the same way other parts of the world do, with just as heavy traffic?”
Highlighting the need for speed restrictions is a recent study showing that the whales’ habitat, previously thought to be mostly deep waters off the Florida Panhandle, actually stretches across the northern, central, and western Gulf.
One was seen off the central Texas coast in 2018, and their sounds have been recorded in the western Gulf, including near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 100 miles offshore from Galveston.
An analysis including this larger area attributed 40 percent of the risk of vessel strikes, on average, to oil and gas shipping.
If deep sea mining gets established on the Texas coast, even more ship traffic would follow (See: “Deep Sea Mining May be Coming to the Texas Coast—But at What Cost?“). Plans for more than a dozen terminals for exporting liquified natural gas (LNG) along the Gulf coast also would increase ship traffic. In a bit of good news for the whales, in January the White House paused all pending LNG export permits, citing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions.
It is worth noting that vessel speed limits must be done properly or they do not actually protect whales, as illustrated by endangered North Atlantic right whales on the U.S. East coast. Five of them have been killed or seriously wounded already in 2024, two from suspected vessel strikes, according to Defenders of Wildlife, despite a 10 nautical mile-per-hour speed limit.*
Implemented in 2008, the limit applies only to vessels 65 feet and longer and in certain times and places, based on where the animals are likely to be. But climate change has caused right whales to shift their habitat to other areas, some where the rule does not apply. In addition, data now show that vessels between 35 and 65 feet in length have struck and killed right whales.
Rare Rice’s whale that died off the coast of Florida. Research into its death led to discovery of new species. Image: NOAA Fisheries
Rice’s whales face other serious threats, too, including entanglement and marine debris. A whale that stranded in Florida in 2019 was killed by a tiny shard of plastic.
“I was skeptical at first, then I saw it,” Jasny says. “The edges are really sharp. It just tore up the insides of this whale. It suffered horribly.”
At least that stranded whale did not die in vain—it made a significant contribution to identification of its species. While Marine biologist Dale Rice first noted the presence of these whales in the Gulf in 1965, Jasny notes that to be recognized as a unique species, a group of animals must meet a high bar, including clear genetic and anatomical evidence.
“When it was listed as subspecies of Bryde’s whale, we only had genetic evidence,” he says. Scientists recovered the whale stranded in Florida and used its bones to provide the anatomical evidence that it is structurally different from Bryde’s and other whale species. A paper published in early 2021 announced that conclusion.
Growing up to 42 feet long and weighing as much as 30 tons, these whales are baleen filter-feeders like humpback and gray whales. Unlike their cousins, though, they dive deep and feed near the seabed, primarily on schooling fish. Previously protected under the Endangered Species Act as a Bryde’s whale, Rice’s whales were listed on their own in 2019—but only after conservation groups filed a series of lawsuits against the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Whales play important roles in marine ecosystems, cycling nutrients from deep waters into shallow and across long distances in the ocean.
“By feeding at depth and then pooping at the surface, whales move nutrients around in ways that wouldn’t occur if they weren’t there,” says Christian Wagley, a coastal organizer with Healthy Gulf. Research shows this behavior can increase marine productivity and enhance fisheries.
These huge animals also strike a chord with people, Wagley says, even if most never see one. That sometimes inspires people to act.
Jasny has suggestions. Start by writing Congressional representatives and telling them to support protections for the species, he says.
Several bills already introduced in Congress would actively prohibit NOAA from considering action to protect Rice’s whales—including “The Gulf of Mexico Commerce Protection Act” (H.R. 5239), introduced by Rep. Higgins (R-LA) and the “Warding off Hostile Administrative Lease Efforts Act” (S. 2986), introduced by Sen. Cassidy R-LA).
Another bill, “Requiring Integrity in Conservation Efforts Act” (H.R. 6008,) could prohibit ESA protections for the whales (See: “House Republican Legislation Would Gut Protections for Critically Endangered Gulf of Mexico Rice’s Whales.”)
“If you live near a port, tell them you care about this species and want them to support slower speeds for large commercial ships,” Jasny said.
“Often ports have public meetings, or just call the executive offices. Start a petition, tell your friends and family, get your town or port or whatever to recognize this marvelous whale.”
Earthjustice has sued to stop the sale of oil and gas leases in the whale’s habitat. A sale last fall went through despite a lengthy battle, but Earthjustice and others continue to pursue legal avenues to protect the whales and other marine life.
They have seen some progress. After NRDC and Healthy Gulf sued the government in 2020 to enforce deadlines for declaring critical habitat for these endangered whales, the Fisheries Service released a proposal for such designation in July 2023. Public comments closed on Oct 6, 2023 and the agency is currently reviewing comments before issuing a final critical habitat designation.
But while we wait, scientists warn, the United States could become responsible for the first human-caused extinction of a great whale species in recorded history. Right here in the Gulf of Mexico.
Boaters, anglers, and others should report all suspected sightings of Rice’s whales to NOAA at (877) WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343).
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* This sentence was adjusted to better reflect the number of suspected vessel strikes.
Melissa Gaskill is a native Texan and Austin-based freelance science writer who frequently covers environmental issues, the oceans, and wildlife.
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