Boating Alert: Right Whales Coming

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THE RIGHT WHALES ARE COMING

NOAA Fisheries, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are reminding boaters that North Atlantic right whale calving season begins this month, which means these large whales will soon be showing up off the Southeast’s coast.  

With as few as 400 left, North Atlantic right whales are one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals. 

Each winter, pregnant right whales travel more than 1,000 miles from their feeding grounds off Canada and New England to the warm coastal waters of South Carolina, Georgia and northeastern Florida. Here, from mid-November through mid-April, they give birth and nurse their young.

These whales are protected, and ships and recreational boats pose a significant risk of collision.

Read NOAA's news release about vessel regulations, speed limits and protected space around right whales.

Also:

  • Review seasonal ship speed restrictions.
  • Learn about DNR’s Nongame Conservation Section and agency efforts to conserve right whales.
  • Attend this year’s Right Whale Festival, Nov. 23 at Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
  • Help conserve right whales in Georgia.
  • View right whale photographs taken on our coast.

 

To report sightings of dead, injured or entangled whales on Georgia's coast, call 1-800-2-SAVE-ME (1-800-272-8363).
 

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