We started with a group of Atlantic white sided dolphins- at least 50 of them! These dolphins were great- staying close to the boat giving us great looks.
As we ventured off shore, we found at least 6 fin whales in the area. The whales were feeding deep- at least 500 feet down, and were only coming up for a couple quick breaths before going right back down to feed.
We did get a great look at one fin whale, as it surfaced near by. Sadly, our best look at this whale was when it altered its course directly towards us, and then along our side in order to avoid a collision with a sport boat that was cutting it off, and moving at a high speed.
Fin whale chevron pattern. Check out the flipper under water!
Un Reel, moving very fast directly at the fin whale
Un Reel continuing to race around the whales
Another fin whale that was hit by a small boat- notice the propeller scars that have now healed.Collisions with boats is a major threat to all whales. Some whales manage to escape with just a scar- others aren't nearly as lucky. Dangerous boating behavior like we saw today from Un Reel needs to be reported and law enforcement needs to correct this problem. Education is the first step. If you know of any boaters who seek whales, be sure they are aware of the whale watching guidelines, and know that harassing a whale (any thing that alters the behavior of a whale) is illegal.
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