Large number of whale sightings off New England, including endangered sei whales
A large number of whales visit the waters off New England, and the group includes an unusually large number of endangered species, scientists who study the animals said.
A research flight made 161 sightings of seven different species of whales south of Martha’s Vineyard and southeast of Nantucket on May 25, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said Thursday. The sightings involved 93 sei whales, one of the highest concentrations of the rare whale on a single flight, the agency said.
Other highlights included two killer whales — an unusual sight off the coast of New England — one of which was carrying a tuna in its mouth, NOAA said. There were also endangered North Atlantic right whales, as well as humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales and sperm whales, the agency said.
The sightings don’t necessarily represent 161 individual whales, because observers may sight the same animal more than once, said Teri Frady, chief of research communications for NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. However, the observers clearly reported “a lot of whales,” Frady said.
“It is not unusual for there to be a lot of whales in the area at this time of year. “But because we don’t survey the same areas every day, or every time we fly, catching such a large collection with such a variety of species on one of our flights is the exception rather than the rule,” Frady said.
Observers recorded three sightings of the North Atlantic right whale, which has been the subject of new proposed fishing and shipping regulations in a bid to protect it from extinction. There are less than 360 whales left on Earth, scientists say.
The large whale group appeared in an area that is “increasingly important as a core year-round habitat for North Atlantic right whales and other large whale species,” said Gib Brogan, campaign director at conservation group Oceana. The whales are “swimming in a dangerous manner” until the US enacts strict regulations on this protect them from collisions with big ships and entanglement in commercial fishing gearhe said.
“Oceana is concerned about protecting these whales from ship strikes and entanglements, the two leading causes of death for large whales in the U.S. Atlantic,” Brogan said.