Gloucester Whale Watching :: Whale Watch Gloucester, Boston MA and New England

October 9, 2008: 13 HUMPBACK WHALES (including 2 mother and calf pairs)

2008-08-18T22:05:00.007-04:00

Even as our whale watch season reaches its end (we will be running trips for just a few more weeks) the number of whales on Stellwagen Bank has not diminished. Often times at this late point in the season we see a gradual dwindling of the number of whales as many whales begin their migration south towards their breeding grounds. This year, however, is different. For example today (October 9th) we saw at least 12 HUMPBACK WHALES just 13 miles outside Gloucester Harbor.PLEASE follow the link below to read complete report of this trip. You will be AMAZED by the pictures......

20-25 HUMPBACK WHALES, 11 FIN WHALES and 2 MINKE WHALES seen on Sunday, June 1, 2008

2008-06-01T19:11:00.003-04:00

On this afternoon's whale watch we sighted 20-25 HUMPBACK WHALES (including 4 mother and calf pairs) within 16 miles of Gloucester Harbor.Most of these whales were surface feeding...often in groups of 4 or 5 whales working together to blow huge rings of bubbles around schools of fish in an effort to confuse and concentrate the fish and thus make feeding more efficient (a really impressive thing to see!).The highlight of today's whale watch trip for many people, however, was when the calf of a Humpback whale called "firefly" breached twice right along side our boat!Other whale species were also sighted.I estimate that there was a MINIMUM of 11 FIN WHALES in the area (including "the" group of 3 Fin Whales that have been traveling together for over a week now).2 MINKE WHALES were also sighted.

Huge Movement of Humpback Whales into the Stellwagen Bank Area

2008-05-24T21:00:00.009-04:00

25-30 Humpback Whales, Spotted feeding off Gloucester ... This afternoon's whale watch was one of the best ... EVER! After a week of seeing massive schools of Sand Lance (the favorite food of the whales in our area) today we saw a huge movement of whales into the Stellwagen Bank area. By the end of the day I estimate we saw between 25 and 30 Humpback Whales(including 4 mother and calf pairs!), at least 5 Fin Whales, and 5 Minke Whales. All of these whales were feeding ... sometimes in groups of 4 or more whales working together to herd schools of fish into to tight groups or encircling the fish with rings of bubbles and then exploding to the surface with mouth open and fish and water flying everywhere.

Humpback Whale feeding ... Our whale watch began right on Stellwagen Bank's northwest corner (12 miles from Gloucester) where we found a group of three Finback Whales lunge feeding. Fin Whales feed by using their great speed to catch fish and have been called "the greyhound of the sea" because they can reach speeds of close to 35 knots (about 40 mph). Usually these whales are difficult to get close views of because of this great speed, however today, they were feeding at the surface, we were able to get some of the best views I have ever had at feeding Finback Whales.

We were actually able to predict where the Whales would surface because we would see the whales moving towards a patch of "bait" (fish) at the surface and position the boat along side the school of fish. Then we would see the fish begin to panic and start leaping from the water. A second later the Fin Whales would lunge to the surface at amazing speed, roll on their sides, and scoop up the fish in their huge jaws. I have only seen this behavior up close a few times in all of the 17 years I have worked for 7 Seas Whale Watch but NEVER have I seen it so close or been able to predict just where and when it would happen so I could get a photograph like the one above!

Lunge feeding Fin Whales

... Finback Whales lunge feeding was just the beginning ... After watching the Fin Whales for a while, we traveled a few miles to the east of Stellwagen Bank where we started seeing the blows (spouts) of Humpback Whales. What at first looked to be 5 or 6 whales suddenly turned into 10 or 12. Then more and more Humpback Whales kept arriving from somewhere in the deep water east of the bank and before we knew it there were as many as 30 Humpback Whales feeding all around us!

There is no explanation for the experience of having so many whales so close ... and all of them feeding. I hope these sightings will continue for a while, but if you have been thinking of going whale watching at some point this year do yourself a favor and GO SOON!!!!! The ocean environment changes fast so you just never know how long this spectacle will last!

Contact:
Jay Frontierro
Naturalist
7 Sea's Whale Watch
Gloucester, MA
888-283-1776

http://7seaswhalewatch.com

click here for more information and photographs from today's whale watch...

Why Whale Watch From Gloucester?

2008-03-21T13:50:00.003-04:00

Gloucester whale watching is some of the best whale watching in the world. The diversity of whale species that can been seen here is only equaled by far off corners of the Earth such as Antarctica, Patagonia, and Alaska. This abundance of whales, combined with the close proximity of both Stellwagen Bank and Jeffrey's Ledge, is no doubt responsible for Gloucester's popularity as a whale watching port.

At least 14 species of whales have been seen off Gloucester in the time that Seven Seas Whale Watch has been in operation (since 1983). Some of these whale species are quite common and seen on nearly every one of our whale watching trips (i.e. Humpback whales, Fin whales, and Minke whales) while other species are exceedingly rare (i.e. Beluga whale, Sperm whale, and Blue whale).

Each year, the number and relative abundance (between individual species) of whales off the Massachusetts coast varies due to environmental factors that are, quite honestly, still beyond the understanding of marine scientists. In some years Stellwagen Bank is the more "active" region, while in other years Jeffrey's Ledge seems to be the whale's preferred area to feed.

One of the truly great things about whale watching from Gloucester is that the city's location (on the southern end of Cape Ann) is situated directly between both of these popular whale feeding areas. This gives us the opportunity to visit either area... depending on where whales are most abundant. No other whale watching port in Massachusetts or New Hampshire has this ability. Further more, since Cape Ann extends into the sea by 20+ miles, Gloucester is only 8 miles from the southern end of Jeffrey's and 12 miles from the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Therefore the transit time from the dock to the whales is considerably shorter than from any other port.

It is truly unusual for such a large number of whales to be found so close to a major seaport. This gives visitors to Gloucester a tremendous opportunity to view whales in their natural habitat while only having to spend 3-4 hours at sea, rather than many days! The close proximity of these whales to the coast, however, means that we are faced with additional challenges when it comes to preserving/conserving the environment and well-being of the whales we are so fortunate to have in our own "back-yard".