Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for Endangered Rice’s Whales

NOAA announced a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the endangered Rice’s whale under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) even though a decision on the vessel speed in the Gulf of Mexico has not been finalized. The proposed critical habitat designation and the Rice’s whale vessel speed petition are unrelated actions. Critical habitat is designated under the ESA, and the requirement to designate critical habitat for the Rice’s whale was triggered by its 2019 listing as an endangered species. The proposed critical habitat includes Gulf of Mexico waters between 100 and 400 meters depth and this critical habitat would guide federal agencies

US BOEM to seek fisheries funds for Gulf of Mexico wind leases

The first offshore wind power lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico will offer a 10 percent credit to developers who contribute to a fisheries compensation fund for commercial and charter fishermen. The August 2023 auction by the BOEM will offer a 102,480-acre area offshore Lake Charles, LA and two areas off Galveston, TX, one comprising 102,480 acres and the other 96,786 acres. If developed to full potential, the lease areas could hold turbine arrays with nameplate ratings totaling 3.7 gigawatts of electricity. In planning the Gulf wind energy areas, BOEM excluded highly productive fishing areas after consultations