New York boating safety courses to include education on avoiding whale strikes, new law says

As more whales spend time in Long Island waters, a new state law aims to educate boaters about how to avoid collisions with the marine mammals.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the New York Whale Awareness Act into law Monday, directing the state Department of Environmental Conservation to develop education about whale interactions that would be included in the state's mandatory boating safety courses and vessel registration.

"By equipping boaters with standard best practices and collision-prevention techniques, the initiative aims to encourage safer navigation habits and prevent accidental injuries and deaths among local marine life, including humpback whales and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale," a state release said.

"This is critically important," Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said. “[The collisions] are not just large ships, but also vessels 65 feet or less."

The increase in whale deaths coincides with a growing number of whales being spotted off Long Island. New York supports migratory routes for six large whale species, including humpback and sperm whales. Humpbacks are increasingly spending time in local waters because of abundant prey, bringing them closer to shore and into areas with heavy vessel traffic.

"No captain wants to hit a whale," Carl LoBue, ocean program director for the Nature Conservancy, said. "You can cause serious bodily harm and injure your vessel and potentially kill your crew."

Whale-boat collisions are the second leading cause of death for whales, with the first being whales caught in fishing gear, according to NOAA Fisheries.

"Whales are at risk wherever they are, especially where there is boat traffic," LoBue said. “[Education materials] give captains a skill set to know what to look for, to tell when whales might be in the area."

Experts advise boaters to stay 300 feet or more away from whales, and if a whale breaches near your boat to cut the engine so the propeller does not cut the whale. Whales cannot see in front of them because their eyes are on the side of their heads, meaning most times they cannot see your boat approaching.

"Do not speed toward [whales] to get a photo that you can put on Instagram," Esposito said. "We don’t live in a Disney movie. The whale is not going to come out of the water so you can pet it."