State Senate gives final approval to bill to educate boaters about whales

ALBANY — It’s a whale of a bill.

The State Senate unanimously passed legislation Thursday meant to educate boaters traveling around New York City and Long Island about some of the largest animals on earth.

The bill passed the state Assembly on Feb. 24. It requires the state Department of Environmental Conservation to develop recommendations to be included as part of the state’s boater education course.

And starting in 2028, the materials will be provided to anyone seeking to register a boat in New York City as well as Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester and Rockland counties.

Assembly sponsor Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson) said the legislation is a common sense step to reduce dangerous interactions between boaters and whales.

Boaters are finding themselves in situations where they don’t know what to do if a whale surfaces near their boat and can harm or fatally injure the animal, she said.

"Then there's always people who try to get that picture for the ‘Gram and see marine wildlife and go toward it, and don't know that that's not lawful to do so," she said, referring to Instagram.

The state’s action comes as the federal government is moving to roll back regulations meant to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from vessel strikes.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to undo a 2008 rule that requires oceangoing vessels 65 feet or larger to slow down during certain times of the year along the East Coast. The rule sets mandatory speed limits in seasonal management areas where right whales and large numbers of vessels overlap, such as New York Harbor.

Interactions between vessels and whales has become increasingly common off the shores of New York City and Long Island, said Chris St. Lawrence of Gotham Whale Watch, a nonprofit research and education organization focused on the marine mammals.

"They are a relatively new phenomenon for our area and that is just becoming a more common issue that boaters are having to address," he said.

Since 2012, the nonprofit has identified more than 480 individual whales around New York City. That number has increased over the years, and it now records sightings of just under 100 individual whales a year.

"I've been boating my whole life. I grew up on Long Island, and honestly, it used to be a really rare thing to see a whale, and really exciting thing," said Carl Lobue, the ocean programs director at The Nature Conservancy.

Now he said he sees a whale almost every time he’s out on the water, which can bring danger even for experienced boat captains.

St. Lawrence said the most common whale New Yorkers will see is likely the humpback. Humpbacks are known for launching themselves out of the water, which is called breaching.

Lobue said whales can be difficult to spot underwater in certain conditions. It is also difficult for larger baleen whales, such as humpbacks, to move out of a boat’s way when they are feeding. Those whales eat by filling their mouths and throats with thousands of gallons of water and filter it out, leaving behind the fish they rely on for food.

"There's really no way for them to react and move out of your way if they wanted to," Lobue said.

The state’s education materials could be based off an existing free education program designed by The Nature Conservancy, Gotham Whale Watch and other environmental groups meant to help boat captains voluntarily take steps to reduce harmful interactions with whales.

The program simulates a journey from Captree State Park, on the eastern tip of Jones Island, to Great Kills Harbor off Staten Island. It teaches boaters how to spot whales, understand their behavior and report sightings.