Vessel Strike Avoidance Fund Grant

Background
NFWF is soliciting proposals to promote the development and adoption of innovative technologies that can help reduce vessel strikes of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (right whale) and other large whales.
The right whale is an endangered species, and vessel strikes are one of the major human-induced threats to their continued health and ability to recover. The whales’ habitat and migration routes are dynamic but overlap with major ports, harbors, shipping lanes, and areas of heavy recreational boating use along the Atlantic coastline, making right whales vulnerable to collisions with vessels that can be fatal. Generally, the faster a vessel is traveling when it hits a whale, the higher the likelihood of serious injury or death.
Current measures for right whale conservation require most vessels over 65 ft to adhere to speed restrictions within designated seasonal areas where right whales are likely to be present. Temporary voluntary measures are also declared when right whales have been visually or acoustically detected in areas where mandatory measures are not in place. Despite these measures, strikes involving a variety of size classes continue to negatively impact the species. While slowing vessel speeds can be an effective means to reduce vessel strike threats, slow speed measures alone cannot fully resolve these issues, and speed restriction measures impact commercial and recreational use of coastal waters. The deployment of existing, in development, or future technologies, innovative tools, and engineering approaches may have the potential to decrease the likelihood of collisions with whales and help reduce operational impacts to vessels. The goal of the Vessel Strike Avoidance Fund is to accelerate the development and testing of technologies and innovations to help further right whale and other large whale conservation and coexistence with humans.
The Vessel Strike Avoidance Fund program is a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with additional support provided by Toyota Motors North America.