Courtesy of New England Aquarium
GLOUCESTER – In a rare occurrence, sightseers aboard a Cape Ann Whale Watch vessel about ten miles off the state’s coastline in Stellwagen Bank witnessed back-to-back sightings of blue whales this past week, the first known blue whale sightings in the region’s waters in two decades.
The endangered species, whose numbers have rebounded in recent years, is the largest animal on earth, and the largest known creature in recorded history, reaching up to 300,000 pounds.
Experts with the Center for Coastal Studies say they typically remain hundreds of miles offshore.
The unusual event coincides with a series of unusual marine megafauna sightings, including recent sightings of whale sharks spotted farther north than they have ever been seen before in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monument, prompting a field study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute later this summer.
In the case of whale sharks, regional scientists have conjectured that the species has followed the warm waters of the Gulf Stream up north as they filter-feed on plankton such as krill.
Disruptions to seasonal marine migrations have spurred an increased interest in alterations to marine vessel restrictions, as marine vessels pose a mortal risk to marine mammals such as blue whales, and critically endangered right whales, prompting calls for updated speed restrictions in coastal waters.
About Matthew Tomlinson
