- GARFO
-
Programs
- Analysis & Program Support
- Fishing Industry Homepage
- FOIA
- General Counsel
- Grants
- Habitat Conservation
- Habitat Restoration
- Highly Migratory Species
- Law Enforcement
- NEPA
- Operations and Budget
- Protected Resources
- Seafood Inspection
- Stakeholder Engagement Division
- Sustainable Fisheries
- Vessel Monitoring System
- Science Center
- Councils & Commission
- Contact Us
-
Commercial Fishing
- Bulletins (Permit Holder Letters)
- Cooperative Research
- Federal Register Actions
- Fishery Information Sheets
- Fisheries Charts
- Fishing Industry Homepage
- Fish Online
- Forms and Applications
- Observer Program
- Permit Information
- Protected Species Regulations
- Scientific Research
- Seafood Dealer Reporting
- Species ID
- Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
- Vessel Reporting
- Recreational Fishing
-
Managed Species
- American Lobster
- Atlantic Herring
- Atlantic Salmon
- Atlantic Salmon Recovery
- Atlantic Sea Scallop
- Atlantic Sturgeon
- Black Sea Bass
- Bluefish
- Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish
- Marine Mammals
- Monkfish
- NE Multispecies
- Red Crab
- River Herring
- Scup
- Sea Turtles
- Shortnose Sturgeon
- Skate
- Spiny Dogfish
- Summer Flounder
- Surfclam/Ocean Quahog
- Tilefish
- Whiting, Other Hakes
- Aquaculture
- Tribal Relations
- Regulations
-
Quotas, Landings
- Atlantic Herring
- Atlantic Mackerel
- Atlantic Sea Scallop
- Black Sea Bass
- Bluefish
- Butterfish
- Butterfish Mortality Cap
- Haddock
- Illex Squid
- Incidental Golden Tilefish
- Longfin Squid
- Monkfish
- NE Multispecies (Groundfish)
- NE Skate Complex
- River Herring / Shad
- Scup
- Small Mesh Whiting (Hakes)
- Spiny Dogfish
- Summer Flounder
- Surf Clam / Ocean Quahog
- - Quota Report Archives -
- Outreach
- Resources
- Section 7 Consultation
Get Text Alerts
Sign up for recreational and commercial text alerts
Mid-Atlantic Mariners: Watch Out for Migrating Right Whales
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2016 |
Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are now migrating south for the winter. To help protect these whales, we have designated several Seasonal Management Areas along the U.S. East Coast. In these areas, vessels greater than 65 feet in length must not exceed speeds of 10 knots from November through April.
The Seasonal Management Areas are around (see map):
- Block Island
- Ports of New York/New Jersey
- Entrance to Delaware Bay
- Entrance to Chesapeake Bay
- Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC
- A continuous area 20 nm from shore between Wilmington, NC, to Brunswick, GA
The purpose of this regulation is to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to these endangered whales that result from collisions with ships.
Read more about these regulations and get the coordinates for each area in our Compliance Guide.
If you see a right whale, please remember to stay 500 yards away.
We ask that all mariners keep a sharp eye out for these whales. Please report sightings from Virginia to Maine to 865-755-6622.
More information, including the most recent right whale sighting locations, is available on our website.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov