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NOAA Fisheries announces the opening of Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs) in the Mid-Atlantic to protect North Atlantic right whales starting on November 1. All vessels 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots or less in this area to reduce the threat of vessel collisions with these endangered whales. The Mid-Atlantic SMAs are in effect through April 30, 2026.
Because vessels of all sizes can strike and injure a right whale, NOAA Fisheries also encourages vessels less than 65 feet in length to slow down to 10 knots or less within active SMAs.
Mid-Atlantic SMA (Migratory Route and Calving Grounds) includes:
Block Island Sound waters bounded by:
40º51'53.7" N 070º36'44.9" W
41º20'14.1" N 070º49'44.1" W
41º04'16.7" N 071º51'21.0" W
40º35'56.5" N 071º38'25.1" W then back to starting point.
Within a 20-nm (37 km) radius of the following (as measured seaward from the COLREGS lines):
Ports of New York/New Jersey:
40º29'42.2"N 073º55'57.6"W
Entrance to the Delaware Bay (Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington):
38º52'27.4"N 075º01'32.1"W
Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay (Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore):
37º00'36.9"N 075º57'50.5"W
Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC:
34º41'32.0"N 076°40'08.3"W
Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia, bounded by the following:
A- 34º10'30"N, 077º49'12"W
B- 33º56'42"N, 077º31'30"W
C- 33º36'30"N, 077º47'06"W
D- 33º28'24"N, 078º32'30"W
E- 32º59'06"N, 078º50'18"W
F- 31º50'00"N, 080º33'12"W
G- 31º27'00"N, 080º51'36"W
and west back to the shore.
More Information
Details and graphics of all of all vessel strike management zones currently in effect.
Download the Whale Alert app for iPad, iPhone, and Android for real time updates on Slow Zones, SMAs, and other right whale sightings.
Recent right whale sightings and real-time acoustic detections along the eastern seaboard.
Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.
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