MID-ATLANTIC SPEED LIMIT IN PLACE NOV. 1 FOR BOATS 65’ AND UP - The Fisherman

MID-ATLANTIC SPEED LIMIT IN PLACE NOV. 1 FOR BOATS 65’ AND UP

 

Lost in all of the recent debate on the 10-knot speed restriction proposal for all vessels 35 feet and over in a newly recommended seasonal management area (SMA) along the Atlantic Coast is the standing SMA that’s already been established.

As of November 1, 2022, all vessels 65 feet or longer must travel at 10 knots or less in this Mid-Atlantic SMA through April 30, 2023 in an effort to reduce the threat of vessel collisions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale. According to NOAA Fisheries, because vessels of all sizes can strike and injure a right whale, the agency “also encourages vessels less than 65 feet in length to slow down to 10 knots or less within active SMAs” which are outlined below as part of the Mid-Atlantic SMA (Migratory Route and Calving Grounds).

Block Island Sound waters bounded by:

40°51’53.7″ N 070°36’44.9″ W

41°20’14.1″ N 070°49’44.1″ W

41°04’16.7″ N 071°51’21.0″ W

40°35’56.5″ N 071°38’25.1″ 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:

40°29’42.2″N 073°55’57.6″W

-Entrance to the Delaware Bay (Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington):

38°52’27.4″N 075°01’32.1″W

-Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay (Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore):

37°00’36.9″N 075°57’50.5″W

-Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC:

34°41’32.0″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 (and west back to the shore):

A- 34°10’30″N, 077°49’12″W

B- 33°56’42″N, 077°31’30″W

C- 33°36’30″N, 077°47’06″W

D- 33°28’24″N, 078°32’30″W

E- 32°59’06″N, 078°50’18″W

F- 31°50’00″N, 080°33’12″W

G- 31°27’00″N, 080°51’36″W

NOAA Fisheries reminds boaters that approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

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