“I think the biggest concern is just the way this petition came about. And its timing. And it was honestly just really poorly written. And it was a poor execution and really mismanaged by NOAA Fisheries ultimately, as well. The stakeholder groups that would be affected were never engaged in this process. The recreational boating industry was never able to be a part of the right whale workshops when they were coming into play, or the Rice’s whale workshops when they’re coming into play. And the biggest thing here is you got to remember Rice’s whales just got their own designation recently, they were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2019. As a subspecies of Brutus whale in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s just now in the last two or three years that they started calling them Rice’s whales, and they still don’t have critical habitat designation in the Gulf of Mexico. So NOAA Fisheries hasn’t even defined, NOAA hasn’t even defined an area of critical habitat.” — Captain Dylan Hubbard

In Episode 371 of District of Conservation, Gabriella interviews Captain Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina. Dylan’s family business has been in operation since 1928 and is a highly-ranked fishing/charter boat guide business. Tune in to learn about NOAA Fisheries’ proposed vessel speed rule presented as a measure to protect endangered Rice’s whales in the Gulf of Mexico and how anglers, boaters, and whales will be worse off if it’s finalized.

Listen on Apple Podcasts