The Marine Connection welcomes the news that NOAA's Fisheries Service is proposing new rules on vessel traffic, aimed at further protecting Southern Resident killer whales in Washington's Puget Sound. These marine mammals were added to the Endangered Species list in late 2005.

The proposed rules would prohibit vessels from approaching within 200 yards of any killer whale and forbid vessels from intercepting or parking in the path of a whale. In addition, the proposed regulations would set up a half-mile-wide no-go zone along the west side of San Juan Island from 1 May to the end of September where generally no vessels would be allowed. However, there would be exemptions to the rules for some vessels, including those actively fishing commercially, cargo vessels travelling in established shipping lanes, government and research vessels. The no-go zone would also have limited exceptions for land owners accessing private property adjacent to it.

The whales, which depend on their highly sophisticated sonar to navigate and find food, can be affected by underwater noise from boats and disturbed by vessels that approach too close or block their paths. The population peaked at 97 animals in the 1990s and then declined to 79 in 2001. It currently stands at 85 whales. The agency's recovery plan, released in early 2008, calls for actions to reduce disturbance from vessels.