Gray whale seen south of Nantucket on March 1, courtesy of New England Aquarium
NANTUCKET – An aerial survey team with the New England Aquarium has reportedly sighted a gray whale off the coast of Nantucket, an incredibly rare occurrence that marks just the fifth recorded sighting of the marine mammal outside of the Pacific Ocean in the centuries since it became extinct in the Atlantic.
The sighting took place on March 1, as observers 30 miles south of the island caught sight of the whale, distinguishable from other species by its lack of a dorsal fin, as it dove and resurfaced during what appeared to be a feeding session.
“I didn’t want to say out loud what it was, because it seemed crazy,” said Orla O’Brien, an associate research scientist for the Aquarium who has participated in aerial surveys for over a decade; a sentiment echoed by Research Technician Kate Laemmle, who was also present at the sighting.
“My brain was trying to process what I was seeing because this animal was something that should not really exist in these waters,” said Laemmle. “We were laughing because of how wild and exciting this was – to see an animal that disappeared from the Atlantic hundreds of years ago!”
The fifth sighting of a gray whale in Atlantic waters in the new century, scientists believe the sightings can be attributed to melting in the Northwest Passage caused by climate change, allowing the whales to traverse through Arctic waters in Canada from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
“The sighting highlights how important each survey is. While we expect to see humpback, right, and fin whales, the ocean is a dynamic ecosystem, and you never know what you’ll find,” said O’Brien.
“These sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic serve as a reminder of how quickly marine species respond to climate change, given the chance.”
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