Watch out for whales South of Nantucket
by NOAA Fisheries 14 Jul 2018 12:57 UTC
Right Whales Dynamic management Area © NOAA Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries announces that a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area or DMA) has been established to protect a group of four right whales sighted two nautical miles south of Nantucket on June 30, 2018.
Voluntary Dynamic management Area (DMA)
Mariners are requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the following area where a group of right whales has been sighted. Find out more about ship strike reduction efforts.
South of Nantucket -- effective through July 15.
41 32 N
40 54 N
070 29 W
069 36 W
Active Seasonal Management Area (SMA)
Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are also in effect in the Great South Channel through July 31.
Right whales in crisis
The year 2017 was devastating for North Atlantic right whales, which suffered a loss of 17 whales, plus an additional mortality in January 2018--about four percent of their population--an alarming number for such a critically endangered species with a population currently estimated at about 450 animals.
In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an "Unusual Mortality Event", which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.
More info
Recent right whale sightings
Find out more about right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.
Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone
Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS
Send a blank message to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs and SMAs.
Details and graphics of all ship strike management zones currently in effect.
Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175