A right-whale advance notice is not a final rule

What NOAA’s page says

NOAA Fisheries lists the current status of the North Atlantic right whale vessel strike reduction rule action as a Notice, published March 4, 2026. No new right whale speed rule has taken effect: the 2026 document is an advance notice that seeks information, and the page lists no final rule after 2008 beyond the 2013 and 2014 changes.

The page describes an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that considers possible deregulatory changes to the existing speed rule. NOAA says it wants to replace seasonal speed restrictions with alternative management areas and technology-based strike-avoidance measures, and it frames that shift as maintaining or enhancing conservation outcomes while reducing regulatory burden on vessel operators.

The agency lists specific topics it wants public input on: technology effectiveness for reducing strikes, vessel-size risk assessment, alternative management areas, safety deviation provisions, the existing speed rule’s efficacy, and economic impacts on industry.

A regulatory history sits below that summary, and every entry carries its own Federal Register citation. Read from the bottom up, the entries run from a 2004 advance notice (69 FR 30857) through a 2006 proposed rule (71 FR 36299), the 2008 final speed rule (73 FR 60173), removal of the sunset provision in 2013 (78 FR 73726) and a correction to that removal in 2014 (79 FR 34245), a 2022 proposed rule (87 FR 46921) with a comment period extension (87 FR 56925), a 2025 proposed rule withdrawal (90 FR 4711), and the 2026 advance notice now listed as the active status: nine documents in all.

The page was last updated by NOAA’s Office of Protected Resources on March 3, 2026.

Does the 2026 notice change current speed rules?

Listing an action as “Notice” status does not mean any new rule has taken effect. The page’s status field reads Notice, not final rule, and the history lists nothing after the 2025 proposed rule withdrawal except the advance notice itself.

An advance notice of proposed rulemaking is an information-gathering step. NOAA’s page frames the 2026 notice as “seeking information” on six listed topics, including technology effectiveness and economic impacts.

That framing describes a request for public comment, while any decision on whether speed restrictions will change stays pending.

The page does not state a timeline for when, or whether, a proposed rule will follow the advance notice. It does not specify what the existing speed rule requires operationally, nor does it confirm that current seasonal restrictions have been suspended or altered pending this process.

The 2008 final speed rule, the 2013 sunset removal, and later corrections remain listed as separate, earlier entries in that same history, and the 2026 notice takes its place alongside them as another entry, not as something that supersedes them.

Nothing on the page states which measures, if any, will replace seasonal speed restrictions. The six comment topics describe subjects still under consideration, with vessel-size risk, alternative management areas, and strike-avoidance technology performance all awaiting conclusions from NOAA.

Keep competing questions separate

Whether NOAA is gathering public comment is a separate question from whether current speed rules still apply to a given voyage. The page confirms the former: an advance notice open for information on six specified topics.

It does not answer the latter. Nothing on this page tells anyone what to do on a given voyage next week.

Whether the 2026 advance notice will lead to a proposed rule is also distinct from whether it will lead to a final rule. The regulatory history shows these as separate stages.

Take the 2022 proposed rule as an example. It drew a comment period extension the same year, then was withdrawn in 2025, without ever reaching final rule status. That sequence shows a proposed rule can end in withdrawal well short of a final rule with operational effect.

Separately, questions about conservation efficacy, such as whether alternative management areas or new technology would maintain protections for the North Atlantic right whale, are framed on the page as topics NOAA is soliciting input on. The agency has not published these as settled findings on this page. Prior materials already exist, including a 2020 North Atlantic Right Whale Speed Rule Assessment and a 2024 technology workshop, and the page links to both. An agency can hold prior assessments and still reopen the question, and the notice is that reopening.

Treating “a notice exists” as equivalent to “a new rule is in force” conflates two different stages. So does treating “a proposed rule was floated” as equivalent to “a proposed rule survived to finalization.” NOAA’s own history table keeps these stages distinct.

Check before acting

Before acting, check four things: 1. the status field and history table on NOAA’s page; 2. the Federal Register citation for the stage that matters; 3. the page’s last updated date; 4. whether a topic is only one NOAA is seeking information on. The status field and history table are the primary indicators of where a given action sits, whether at advance notice, proposed rule, withdrawal, or final rule.

Cross-check the specific Federal Register citation tied to whichever stage matters for your situation. The page links each historical action, including the 2026 advance notice, the 2025 withdrawal, and the 2008 final rule, to its own separate citation.

Note the “last updated” date listed near the bottom of the page. An advance notice can remain the listed status for an extended period before any proposed rule follows, and the page does not commit to a schedule for that next step.

Distinguish comment-topic language from confirmed agency conclusions. Where the page says NOAA is “seeking information” on a topic such as technology effectiveness or economic impacts, that phrasing signals an open question still awaiting a published finding.

For a legal or regulatory determination affecting a specific vessel or operation, review the underlying Federal Register notices directly instead of relying on a summary page. Organizations tracking this process may find it useful to log the status date and citation each time they check, since both fields can change as the rulemaking proceeds through additional stages.