Agencies Petition to Reduce Max Speed for Big Boats

S.B.-based Environmental Defense Center was one of four agencies to file an official petition with the federal government this week requesting a maximum speed limit of 10 knots for vessels over 65 feet in length when traveling through National Marine Sanctuary waters off the California coast. At the heart of the request is the desire to protect the various types of animals swimming through the sanctuaries from potentially fatal run-ins with ships, underwater noise, and air pollution. Ever since five blue whales died in the Santa Barbara Channel in the fall of 2007 from what experts believe were ship strikes, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Committee has been working on the issue.