State of the Science: North Atlantic Right Whale Webinar

This May 2026 webinar, hosted by the Georgia Conservancy and moderated by Courtney Reich and Dr. Sarah Roney, focused on the conservation status of the North Atlantic right whale (NARW), emerging detection technologies, vessel strike prevention, AIS communication systems, boater outreach, and the public comment process surrounding changes in the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the 2008 NOAA Vessel Speed Rule.

North Atlantic right whales, Georgia’s state marine mammal, are critically endangered with an estimated population of approximately 380 whales remaining. Vessel strikes continue to be a leading cause of serious injury and mortality in whales, especially in the Southeast region, where pregnant whales come to calve their young. The Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announces that NOAA is considering replacing seasonal management areas, which are currently used to regulate vessel speed and reduce the risk of whale strikes, with dynamic management areas. However, our methods for detecting whale locations using current and emerging technologies are insufficient on their own to establish these dynamic management areas, and experts agree that the seasonal management areas established under the 2008 NOAA speed rule remain necessary to reduce the risk of vessel strikes.

North Atlantic Right Whale Conservation Fundamentals

Jessica Thompson from Georgia DNR – Wildlife Resources Division provided an extensive overview of North Atlantic right whale biology, conservation status, habitat use, and current management regulations. Right whales migrate along the eastern seaboard from Canada to Florida and use the southeastern United States as their only known calving ground. Approximately one-third of the population enters southeastern waters during the winter season, including pregnant females, mothers with calves, juveniles, and some males. The population estimate of remaining right whales is approximately 380 whales, and they are classified as critically endangered. Vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements are the primary threats to survival, and vessel strikes are a leading cause of mortality in the Southeast, where whales migrate through heavily trafficked shipping corridors and coastal waters. Some physical characteristics and behaviors that make right whales difficult to detect are a dark coloration, lack of a dorsal fin, broad, flat backs, small group sizes, and long periods spent at or below the surface. In addition, right whales often occupy shallow waters, sometimes as shallow as 15 feet, increasing their vulnerability to vessel interactions.

Key legal protections to protect the right whale include:

The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
The 500-yard approach rule
The 2008 NOAA vessel speed rule

The 2008 Speed Rule established seasonal management areas (SMAs) in critical whale calving grounds. Seasonal management areas impose mandatory 10-knot speed limits for vessels 65 feet and larger during predictable periods when whales are expected to be present. Dynamic management areas are voluntary and activated only after whale detections. The proposed changes to NOAA’s 2026 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking raised questions about whether technology-supported dynamic management approaches are sufficiently effective to replace or reduce seasonal protections.

Any transition toward dynamic management would require:

Reliable whale detection systems
Effective communication networks
Strong mariner compliance
Proven conservation outcomes
Better understanding of human behavioral responses

Detection Technology Panel

With the proposed Rule Changes from seasonal management area to dynamic management areas, being able to reliably detect right whales is critical for the establishment of these dynamic areas. Therefore, this webinar’s largest section featured a panel discussion on technologies used to detect North Atlantic right whales and evaluate vessel strike risk. The panel included experts in aerial surveys, passive acoustics, and satellite telemetry, and these experts stressed that no single technology is capable of accurately detecting right whales in real time and replacing seasonal management areas.

Aerial Survey Monitoring

Melanie White of Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute described the extensive aerial survey network used during calving season. Four teams conduct flights from North Carolina through Florida between November and April.

Survey teams visually identify whales while flying along predefined track lines in coastal waters. They photograph whales for individual identification and often communicate directly with vessels that may pose collision risks when a whale is nearby. Aerial surveys provide broad spatial coverage and real-time vessel mitigation; however, this detection method is limited:

Flights only occur during daylight
Weather can prevent surveys
Surveys cannot cover the entire region continuously
Budget constraints limit effort

Despite these challenges, aerial surveys remain one of the most consistent, reliable, and effective direct detection methods currently available.

Passive Acoustic Monitoring

Dr. Erin Meyer-Gutbrod of the University of South Carolina discussed passive acoustic monitoring using underwater hydrophones mounted on buoys and autonomous gliders.

These systems listen for characteristic right whale “up calls.” Acoustic detections can help identify whale presence within roughly 5–10 kilometers of the listening device. Acoustic monitoring has proven useful in northern feeding grounds but is significantly more difficult in the southeastern calving grounds because:

Whales vocalize less frequently during calving season
Mothers and calves remain close together and stay quiet
Shallow water of the South Atlantic Bight reduces sound propagation
Biological noise from fish and shrimp interferes with detections

Despite extensive glider deployments across the Southeast, confirmed detections of right whales remain relatively rare in this region. Dr. Meyer-Gutbrod shared that acoustics are a valuable supplementary tool but currently cannot replace static seasonal management areas as a primary protective strategy.

Satellite Telemetry and Tagging

Dr. Alex Zerbini of the University of Washington’s Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies discussed satellite telemetry tags used to track whale movements and behavior. There are three types of tags that can be used to monitor whale movements: suction-cup tags provide short-term data (~48 hrs) and are non-invasive, anchored tags attach to the blubber of a whale and last longer than suction cups (~7 days average, max = 50), and consolidated tags last and average of ~23 days (max = 500), but are invasive to the tissues of the whale and not currently permitted for study on NARWs.

Satellite telemetry provides:

Near real-time location information
Long-term movement tracking
Behavioral data
Understanding of remote habitats

However, tagging also has major practical limitations:

Only tagged whales can be monitored
Tags eventually detach
Tagging all whales is impossible
Tag deployment is expensive and logistically difficult
Some whales are not suitable candidates for tagging

Zerbini stressed that telemetry is an important tool but cannot serve as a complete standalone monitoring solution.

AIS Beacons to Alert Mariners

Courtney Reich introduced Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology as a potential mechanism for communicating whale-related information to mariners. AIS is a radio-based communication system that allows vessels to broadcast and receive information such as identity, location, speed, size, and course. The system is managed primarily by the U.S. Coast Guard in partnership with NOAA and other agencies.

The Georgia Conservancy and partners such as Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources are working to establish a coastal network of AIS transponders along Georgia’s coastline. The purpose of the system is to communicate the speed regulations enacted by the 2008 Vessel Speed Rule to vessels operating in right whale calving grounds. Importantly, the current AIS system does not provide real-time whale locations. Instead, the existing implementation alerts vessels over 65’ traveling faster than 10 knots within seasonal management areas.

Though this technology is promising in enforcing speed restrictions to reduce right whale strikes, this technology is limited:

Communication range varies based on environmental conditions and infrastructure
Different manufacturers display messages differently
Researchers do not yet fully understand how mariners receive or interpret alerts
Real-world testing is still needed
The system currently depends on the existence of seasonal management areas

If NOAA removes or significantly alters the existing speed rule framework, the legal and operational basis for current AIS warning systems could become uncertain. Technology-driven communication systems like this are only effective if:

Detection systems reliably identify whales
Alerts reach mariners clearly
Mariners understand and respond appropriately
Regulatory frameworks support implementation

Boater Communication

Dr. Chelsey Crandall of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute discussed the human dimensions of whale conservation and the importance of understanding how mariners receive, interpret, and respond to conservation messaging. She is part of a team that led a large-scale social science research effort designed to better understand recreational and commercial boaters operating on the east coast.

Researchers collected more than 3,000 completed surveys, including over 1,600 from owners or operators of vessels larger than 26 feet. The surveys aimed to identify:

Boater awareness of right whale protections
Communication preferences
Technology usage patterns
Reactions to conservation messaging
Attitudes toward vessel speed restrictions

Analysis on these results is still in progress, but conservation success depends not only on biological science but also on understanding human behavior. Even the most advanced technologies will fail if mariners do not receive, trust, understand, or comply with conservation alerts.

Closing and Public Comment Review

The webinar concluded with a review of NOAA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and instructions for public participation in the federal comment process. NOAA is currently gathering information regarding potential future changes to the vessel speed rule, particularly proposals involving dynamic management systems that would replace existing seasonal management areas.

Key points on the potential changes to 2008 NOAA Vessel Speed Rule:

Current seasonal management areas require vessels 65 feet and larger to travel at 10 knots or less (with an exemption for safety in dangerous weather conditions)
Current seasonal protections apply only during periods when whales are expected in an area
Proposed changes would shift toward dynamic management approaches activated by whale detections
Proposed changes to dynamic management are likely to create confusion on safe traveling routes in the shipping industries
Proposed dynamic management would also be contingent upon consistent, reliable detection of right whales, which is likely to be very costly

We encourage thoughtful, substantive public comments that cite primary sources, rather than large volumes of identical responses. Agencies accept comment submissions on proposed rule changes from all people, regardless of citizenship or location. Our panelists reiterated throughout the closing discussion that current technologies are valuable but not yet comprehensive enough to replace seasonal protections on their own, due to the lack of reliable technology to detect when right whales are present.

NARW Information and Resources:

NOAA Resources

Acoustic Monitoring

Aerial Surveys

Melanie White and the CMARI Survey Team

Georgia Conservancy and AIS Technology

Other Resources