Researchers surprised by right whale traveling coast-to-coast across the Atlantic

Photo credit: Naomi D’arcy (left) and Center for Coastal Studies, taken under NOAA permit 25740-03 (right)

BOSTON – The New England Aquarium says researchers have discovered that a North Atlantic right whale recently sighted in Massachusetts waters is the same individual reported off Ireland last year, an extraordinary connection showing the whale traveled 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

The discovery was made during an aerial survey in Massachusetts Bay on November 19th.

Observers from the Center for Coastal Studies sighted a North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Boston that scientists in the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life confirmed had previously only been seen in Donegal Bay, Ireland, in July 2024, reported by the Irish Whale & Dolphin Group.

While there are rare instances of known North Atlantic right whales from the western Atlantic traveling to the eastern Atlantic and back, this appears to be the first documented case of a whale initially sighted in the eastern North Atlantic and later resighted in the western North Atlantic.

The NEA says the sighting suggests that historical North Atlantic right whale habitats may still hold value and that right whales continue to search widely for suitable habitat.  

“Seeing a whale photographed in Ireland reappear off Boston is extraordinary. Encounters like this highlight both their resilience and the importance of international cooperation to support their recovery,” said Dr. Daniel Palacios, Director of the Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies.