Glacier Bay cuts eastern Lower Bay speed limit to 13 knots to protect feeding humpbacks

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve imposed a 13-knot speed limit on the eastern side of its Lower Bay designated whale waters starting at 5 AM Friday.

Acting Superintendent Joni Seay cited humpback whales actively feeding in the zone. "Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Acting Superintendent Joni Seay announced today a vessel speed limit of 13 knots through the water on the eastern side of the Lower Bay designated whale waters, to protect numerous humpback whales that have been feeding in this area," the park's news release said.

The new 13-knot restriction covers only the eastern portion. Vessels 18 feet or longer must stay at least 1 nautical mile from shore or hold a mid-channel course.

No vessel may operate within a quarter nautical mile of a humpback whale anywhere in park waters. Any vessel that accidentally closes to that distance must immediately slow to 10 knots or less and turn away.

The park has used temporary 13-knot zones before. A National Park Service resource brief published in May 2026 documented six such areas designated in 2025 to protect shifting humpback distributions in the mid bay and lower West Arm. The park moves those limits as whale concentrations shift, removing a restriction from Whidbey Passage in late July 2025 when feeding activity dropped there and adding coverage elsewhere.