Dear MARMAM colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share a new publication in Frontiers in Marine Science: 'Evaluating Adherence With Voluntary Slow Speed Initiatives to Protect Endangered Whales' by Jessica Morten, Ryan Freedman, Jeffrey D. Adams, Jono Wilson, Aliya Rubinstein, and Sean Hastings. Abstract is below and a free PDF copy can be downloaded from: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.833206 Please reach out with questions or feedback. Thank you, Jess Morten Abstract: Vessel strikes are one of the main threats to large whales globally and to endangered blue, fin, and humpback whales in California waters. For over 10 years, NOAA has established seasonal voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) zones off of California and requested that all vessels 300 gross tons (GT) or larger decrease speeds to 10 knots or less to reduce the risk of vessel strikes on endangered whales. We offer a comprehensive analysis quantifying cooperation levels of all vessels ≥ 300 GT from 2010 to 2019 within designated VSR zones using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) data. While average speeds of large vessels have decreased across the years studied, cooperation with voluntary 10-knot speed reduction requests has been lower than estimated to be needed to reduce vessel-strike related mortality to levels that do not inhibit reaching and maintaining optimal sustainable populations. A comparison of vessel speeds across inactive and active voluntary VSR time periods show a modest (+ 15%) increase in cooperation from 2017 to 2019. A complementary, incentive-based VSR program that was started in 2014 and scaled up in 2018 within the region likely improved voluntary VSR cooperation levels, as participating container and car carrier vessels traveled at lower speeds during the VSR season than vessels not enrolled in the incentive-based effort. Comparisons of vessel speeds in the incentive-based VSR program across inactive and active time periods showed a significant (+ 41%) increase in cooperation. With cooperation levels for the voluntary VSR hovering around 50%, and the challenge of funding and sustaining an incentive-based VSR program, voluntary VSR approaches may be insufficient to achieve cooperation levels needed to significantly reduce the risk of vessel strike-related mortality for these federally protected whales, suggesting that VSR regulations warrant consideration. -- *Jessica Morten |* Resource Protection Specialist Greater Farallones Association & California Marine Sanctuary Foundation Affiliate with NOAA Channel Islands, Cordell Bank, and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries *jessica.morten@noaa.gov <jessica.morten@noaa.gov>*