U.S. Coast Guard Introduces Cetacean Desk, Enhancing Cetacean Safety in Salish Sea

The U.S. Coast Guard Puget Sound introduced a cetacean desk pilot program during a ceremony at Sector Puget Sound on February 21. The goal of the four-year pilot program, which is hosted in the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service, is to reduce adverse impacts of maritime vessel traffic on endangered and threatened large cetaceans (whales) in the Salish Sea. The program is made possible through the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022.