Government Lifts Speed Restrictions After Spotting No Whales in Shipping Lanes

Government Lifts Speed Restrictions After Spotting No Whales in Shipping Lanes
A ballet of three North Atlantic right whale tails break the surface in Cape Cod Bay near Provincetown, Mass., in this file photo. AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File
The Canadian Press
Updated:

OTTAWA—The federal government has lifted speed restrictions meant to protect North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence after finding that the policy may have been pushing ships closer to the endangered mammals.

There weren’t any whales in the shipping lanes where speed had been reduced, Transport Canada announced Friday, adding that the lower speed limit had driven cargo ships out of the lanes so they could take more driect routes through areas where the animals are known to gather.