North American Whale Watching

Photo courtesy La Jolla.com.

Breaching Gray whale off the San Diego coast, where it all began.

Photo courtesy La Jolla.com.

North AmericanWhale Watching

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Breaching Gray whale off the San Diego coast, where it all began.

Photo courtesy La Jolla.com.

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Watching Orcas off the coast of Monetery, California. Orcas are also called wolves of the sea — the boat is actually named for the Orcas.

Photo courtesy Yathin S Krishnappa.

Whale watching is the practice of viewing whales and dolphins in their natural habitat. It is a mostly recreational activity, but it can serve scientific and educational purposes. Today, more than 13 million people worldwide participate in whale watching activities annually.

History

Organized whale watching started in the United States, when the Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego was declared a public venue for observing the migration of Gray Whales; the spectacle attracted 10,000 visitors in its first year, 1950. In 1955 the first water-based whale

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watching commenced in the same area, charging customers $1 per trip to view the whales at closer quarters. The industry spread throughout the west coast of the United States over the following decade.

In 1971 the Montreal Zoological Society offered the first commercial whale watching activity on the eastern side of North America, offering trips in the St. Lawrence River to view Fin and Beluga Whales.

In 1984, Erich Hoyt, who had spent much time among the Orcas of British Columbia, published the first comprehensive book on whale watching, The Whale Watcher’s Handbook, which has been called the “classic” book on the subject.

Watching Orcas off the coast of Monetery, California. Orcas are also called wolves of the sea — the boat is actually named for the Orcas.

Photo courtesy Yathin S Krishnappa.

By 1985 more visitors watched whales from New England than California. The rapid growth in this area has been attributed to the relatively dense population of Humpback Whales, whose acrobatic behavior such as breaching (jumping out of the water) and tail-slapping thrilled observers, and the close proximity of whale populations to the large cities there. Today, commercial whale watching operations arefound in 119 countries.

The rapid growth of the number of whale watching trips and the size of vessel used to watch whales may affect whale behavior, migratory patterns and breeding cycles.

North Atlantic

In New England and off the east coast of Long Island in the United States, the whale watching season typically takes place from about mid-spring through October, depending both on weather and precise location. It is here that the Humpback, Fin, Minke, and the very endangered/heavily protected North Atlantic Right whales are often observed.

For generations, areas like the Gulf of Maine and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (part of the inner waters formed by Cape Cod’s hooked shape) have been important feeding grounds for these species: to this day a very large portion of the waters off the Eastern

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Humpback whales and California sea lions in Monterey Bay.

Photo courtesy Cynthia Yock.

Humpback whales and California sea lions in Monterey Bay.

Photo courtesy Cynthia Yock.

Seaboard are rich in sand lance and other nutritious treats for mothers to teach their calves to feed on.

In the past this area was the U.S. whaling industry’s capital, particularly Nantucket, an island just off the coast of Massachusetts. Though strict laws prohibit molestation of these large wild mammals, it is not uncommon for the whales to approach whale watching boats uninvited, particularly curious calves and juveniles.

Juvenile Humpbacks are known to approach the boat to get a better look at the humans aboard. In recent years it is also not uncommon to see these animals playing and feeding in harbors, including New York City or Boston where fish species of interest to the whales have lately returned in astonishing numbers.

Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada has many whale watching tours in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Twenty-two species of whales and dolphins frequent the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador, although the most common are the Humpback, Minke, Fin, Beluga and killer whales. Another popular whale watching area is Tadoussac, Quebec, where Belugas favor the extreme depth and

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mixture of cold fresh water from the Saguenay River into the inland end of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Humpbacks, Minkes, Fin and Blue whales are also frequently seen off Tadoussac. The Bay of Fundy is an equally important feeding ground for large whales and dozens of other creatures of the sea; it shares a population of migrating Humpbacks with America and is a known summer nursery for mother Right whales with calves.

The Mid-Atlantic

On the East Coast of the United States, Virginia Beach, Virginia whale watching is a winter activity from the end of December until the middle of March.

Fin, Humpback, and Right whales are seen off the Virginia Beach coast on whale watching boat trips run by the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Sightings are mostly of juveniles who stay near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay where food is plentiful, while the adults continue to the Caribbean to mate. “Mom” and “Dad” pick up their offspring on the way back north where the whole family summers. The waters surrounding Virginia are also a known migration corridor for the endangered North Atlantic Right whale: Pregnant females must pass through this

area around December to reach their birthing grounds down the coast in Georgia and Florida.

For these reasons the waters between the Delmarva Peninsula and the barrier islands that stretch southwards towards northern Florida must be monitored every winter and spring as mothers give birth to their calves, nurse them, and then ready themselves and their younglings to return north for the cooler waters near New England and Canada.

Whale watching off Massachusetts coast.

Photo courtesy Captain John Boats.

West Coast

On the West Coast of Canada and the United States, excellent whale watching can be found in Alaska (summer), British Columbia, and the San Juan Islands/Puget Sound in Washington, where Orca pods are sometimes visible from shore.

Three types of Orca pods can be observed during the summer months in the Northeast Pacific: resident, transient, and offshore killer whales.

On the Oregon Coast, several whale species, especially Gray whales, may be seen year-round, and the state trains volunteers to assist tourists in the winter months, during whale migration season.

In California, good whale watching can be found yearround on the Southern California coast. During the winter and spring (December–May), Gray whales can be seen from shore on their annual migration (the best spot being Point Vicente), while Blue whales are often seen between July and October. Fin whales, Minke whales, Orcas, and various species of dolphins can be seen yearround.

In spring, summer, and fall at the Farallon Islands off

Breaching Whales

Many whales are very acrobatic, even breaching (jumping) high out of the water and then slapping the water as they come back down.

When a large whale breaches, the splash can be heard for nearly a mile. Sometimes the whales twirl around while breaching. Breaching may be done purely for play or may be used to loosen skin parasites, have some social meaning, or to communicate with other whales.

Most species of whales are known to breach at times. Humpback whales are very acrobatic and known for their energetic breaching, as are gray whales and right whales.

Humpbacks breach more frequently when the seas are rough (and their normal vocalizations are less likely to be heard over the roar of the seas). This suggests that the noise of breaching may be used as a signal.

San Francisco, one may see Humpbacks, Grays, and Blue whales. In Mexico, the various lagoons of Baja California Sur become breeding habitat in February and March. A number of towns in the Mexican state celebrate the whales arrival with festivals such as Guerrero Negro, in the first half of February and the port of San Blas on 24 and 25 February. Every winter, more than 20,000 Pacific Gray whales travel 10,000 miles round-trip (the longest migration of any mammal on earth) from Alaska to the lagoons of Baja California.

That makes San Diego, where it all started, with its 78 miles of coastline directly in the migration path, the perfect place to watch.

Whale watching off Massachusetts coast. Photo courtesy Captain John Boats.

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