Attention all boaters! North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species on the brink of extinction, were detected east of Ocean City.

Officials placed a slow zone in effect off Ocean City’s coast through April 14 to minimize the possibility of boaters accidentally hitting and killing the whales.

The number-one threat to the whales, which can run to 52 feet long, is human interaction, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Officials estimate that there are 370 North Atlantic right whales remaining, and only 70 reproductively active female whales left.

The whales migrate along the East Coast. They have gotten trapped in diving gear and fishing equipment like lobster pots, and those have a detrimental impact on the whales, said Mike Luisi, an assistant director of Fishing and Boating Services with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Boats are also a danger to the whales when the driver is going at speeds fast enough to where they won’t see the whale, he said.

The whales are a dark color and lack a dorsal fin, making it difficult to spot them from boats, according to NOAA.

“It’s a dire situation, and it’s why we have these speed rules in effect,” Luisi said.

There are two types of zones along the East Coast, starting along Ocean City: red areas and yellow areas.

Red areas are spots that have annual seasonal management, requiring boats that are 65 feet and larger to travel at 10 knots or less, according to NOAA. The speed restrictions are recommended for smaller boats, too.

Yellow areas are spots where the North Atlantic right whales have been spotted or heard. NOAA recommends that all boats and vessels slow down in these zones.

If the two areas overlap, speed reductions are required.

The speed restrictions will help boaters spot the whales and change course to avoid hitting them, Luisi said.

“You have a better chance of hitting someone going 80 miles per hour than 5 miles per hour,” he said.

With so few female whales left, which carry their offspring for one year, they cannot reproduce fast enough to catch up with the speed that the whales are getting killed due to human interaction, Luisi said.

“They only have one, two, three, five new whales in a year,” he said. “But if you lost 11 to boat strikes, you are now down again. You haven’t recovered anything.”

On average, female whales have calves every six to 10 years, and biologists believe that the additional stress whales face when they get tangled in traps and fishing gear is a reason the female whales are having calves less frequently, according to NOAA.

Luisi said that human interaction alone might not be the only impact on the whales, and that climate change has a large effect, too.

He said there isn’t a market for whale watching tours in Ocean City. In fact, he said, if people are in the vicinity of a right whale, they must leave the area — people are not permitted to follow the whales or get close to them.

People on surfboards, kayaks, jet skis, in vessels, on aircrafts, and even drones must stay 500 yards, about five football field lengths, away from the whales, according to NOAA. If they get within 500 yards, they “must depart immediately at a safe, slow speed,” according to NOAA.

NOAA asked that if people spot a right whale, to call them and report the sighting to them or to the U.S. Coast Guard.