Right Whale Speed Zones Take Effect Nov 1 2026

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By US Harbors

Starting November 1, most vessels 65 feet and longer must slow to 10 knots or less inside federal Seasonal Management Areas along the Atlantic coast. The zones track North Atlantic right whales as they migrate south to calve off Georgia and Florida. Most stay in effect through April.

The rule dates to 2008 and is now under federal review. Here is where the zones are this season and where the debate over their future stands.

Where and when the 10-knot limit applies

Migratory Route and Calving Grounds (November 1–April 30):
  • Block Island Sound
  • Within 20 nautical miles of the entrances to the Port of New York and New Jersey, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Morehead City/Beaufort, N.C.
  • A continuous band 20 nautical miles from shore between Wilmington, N.C., and Sapelo Island, GA.
Calving and Nursery Grounds (November 15–April 15):
  • From Sapelo Island, GA, to just south of St. Augustine, FL.
New England (January-July):
  • Cape Cod Bay, January 1–May 15
  • Off Race Point, March 1–April 30
  • Great South Channel, April 1–July 31
Massachusetts separately requires most boats under 65 feet to slow to 10 knots in its Cape Cod Bay restriction area from March 1 to April 30. The state extended that window in 2025 because whales stayed late.
NARW Seasonal Management Areas (L), North Atlantic right whale and her 2026 calf (R) Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919
Smaller boats and voluntary Slow Zones

Boats under 65 feet are not required to slow down in the federal zones. NOAA asks them to do so anyway, because a vessel of any size can strike a whale.

Right whales are dark, have no dorsal fin, and spend much of their time at or just below the surface. That makes them hard to see from the helm, especially in chop, poor light, or murky water. NOAA says the risk is highest for mothers with newborn calves.

When whales are detected outside the seasonal zones, NOAA may declare a voluntary Right Whale Slow Zone. For 15 days, mariners are asked to avoid the area or keep to 10 knots or less.

Resources to check before leaving the dock
A rule under review

In March, NOAA Fisheries published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking. It is considering replacing the seasonal speed limits with alternative management areas and technology-based strike-avoidance measures. Public comments closed in June. On September 17, an executive order directed the Commerce Department and NOAA to integrate marine mammal avoidance technology and to work with the private sector to do it.

Much of the recreational boating and sportfishing industry supports that direction. Viking Yacht Company formed its Whale and Vessel Safety Taskforce in 2022. The task force has been testing detection systems, radar, and AI classification software aboard a 24-foot research boat. In September, Viking wrote to NOAA asking the agency to prioritize the rule making. “Technology has to be part of the solution,” Viking president and CEO Pat Healey told Yachting.

Conservation groups and many scientists argue that technology should add to the speed rule, not replace it. The New England Aquarium sent NOAA a letter opposing deregulation. Four organizations, including the Conservation Law Foundation and Defenders of Wildlife, have asked to defend the rule in court. NOAA Fisheries estimates that about 380 right whales remain, including roughly 70 reproductively active females. Any changes would still require a proposed rule and another round of public comments before it takes effect. For this winter, the 2008 rule stands.
Sources: NOAA Fisheries, Yachting, Maine Public, SeafoodSource

 

North Atlantic right whale and her 2026 calf swimming off the Florida coast
North Atlantic right whale #1243 (Magic) and her 2026 calf swimming approximately 10 miles east of Amelia Island, Florida. Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919