The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the rest of our Earth’s waters. Our ocean is changing quickly, and marine mammals have to adapt faster than evolution can keep up.
Humpback whales have been observed closer to shore. North Atlantic right whales have significantly shifted their habitats. Knowing when and where these animals will appear has been a challenge. This makes management protections difficult.
One way we are solving this problem is by increasing our survey efforts in the spring and fall. Our local whale watches operate from mid-May through early October. Yet, whales are likely in our area before and after this period. During our first April whale survey in 2022, we spotted 4 North Atlantic right whales! Looking for whales during the “off-season” helps us learn more about habitat use and behavior. We can then share this information with other scientists and resource managers and collaborate to protect these species. Reporting the right whale sightings last year led to a voluntary speed restriction in the area and notices to mariners that were transiting through.
April 21, 2023 Scouting Trip aboard the f/v Seacoast Lady
On a cloudy early morning, a few of our staff hopped on f/v Seacoast Lady to look around Jeffreys Ledge. The local whale watch boats aren’t starting until late May, and we were curious to see what was out there! There wasn’t much around that particular day, at least not in the areas we ventured through.
However, we did get a few glimpses of one fin whale (maybe two), a humpback whale, a harbor seal, some adult northern gannets, and a juvenile puffin!
May 9, 2023 Scouting Trip aboard the f/v Seacoast Lady
We had heard that the local charter fishing boats had seen whales on Jeffreys Ledge recently, so we hopped on f/v The Seacoast Lady on May 9 to look for them.
Wow! We saw lots of whales! Most of the whales were humpbacks. There were at least a dozen humpbacks. We also saw a few fin whales and a minke whale, and there were many whales in the distance that we couldn’t get to.
One of the highlights was seeing three of our adoptable whales! We spotted Owl, Satula, and Pinball and her newest calf! Click below to see a short video clip of Pinball’s calf.
We knew from our friends at the Turks and Caicos Islands Whale Project that Pinball had a calf this winter. Not all calves make it to the northern feeding grounds, so it was a relief to see these two. We were the first organization to spot this pair in the Gulf of Maine this spring! Their last recorded sighting was in late March in Turks & Caicos.
Another interesting sighting was of Sedge, a whale that we used to identify by his unique, floppy, damaged dorsal fin. Well, that fin is no longer with him. We don’t know what caused the loss, but he seems to be doing fine. He was even seen in the same area as Satula, who lost his dorsal fin years ago. Sedge also was seen in Turks & Caicos, and still had his dorsal fin at that time. Spring whale watching is always full of surprises!
Other familiar whales included Quixote, Photon, Clamp (one of our most frequently-sighted whales last year), Gondolier, and Grand Manan. In addition to the whales, the waters were teeming with comb jellies (ctenophores) and sea gooseberries!
We covered a lot of ocean on this trip! In this screenshot, you can see our trackline and some of the data we recorded in the Mysticetus software. The large plateau that lies diagonally across the lower right corner of the image is Jeffreys Ledge. We covered similar ground during our last survey trip in April, but didn’t have nearly as many whales. What a difference a couple of weeks makes! It will be interesting to continue these surveys in subsequent years to see what we find at this time of cooler weather and water.
Thank you to f/v Seacoast Lady, all our whale spotters, and The Fuller Foundation for supporting our work to study threatened species in the Gulf of Maine.
May 18, 2023 Scouting Trip aboard the m/v Granite State
A beautiful, sunny morning back on the Granite State! We covered some good territory, heading out to Jeffreys Ledge and cruising around the mid-ledge area before heading south as the wind picked up, making for a nicer ride home. Our observers and crew spotted lots of marine life. At least 8 humpback whales, 5 fin whales, a minke whale, and a pod of over 100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins! 
Highlights were seeing some old humpback friends, including Littlespot (a whale I first saw back in the early 1990s while on a whale-watching trip out of Portsmouth, NH), Badge, and Half Moon, to name a few. The dolphins were terrific, with dozens of northern gannets diving all around them.
Amazing northern gannet photo courtesy of Shiloh Schulte
May 23, 2023 Scouting Trip aboard the m/v Granite State
Another calm spring day on the ocean! Today we headed out to the middle part of the ledge and then moved north along the western edge, bumping into whales all along the way. Blows were all over, and we didn’t get to them all before running out of time. We managed to identify over a dozen humpback whales and also got ID photos of two fin whales. 
At one point, four humpback whales were chilling at the surface side by side: Fan, Sword, Quill, and of course, Spoon! Spoon is well known throughout the Gulf of Maine for her lazy behaviors, and today was no different. She barely lifted her flukes while we spent time with the resting group.
