On August 23, 2018, I boarded the American Princess at Riis Landing in Jamaica Bay and joined Gotham Whale in a search for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The captain looked for menhaden (bunker) fish, which the humpback whales love to eat, and there we got to see at least two different humpback whales blowing air and coming up and going back down. I took video throughout the experience, and the stills you see here are. We were fortunate to see so much activity in our brief, four-hour trip. All photos are stills pulled from the video.
Humpback whale, seen from the American Princess, August 23, 2018
According to Gotham Whale:
“The Omega Fleet recently has been fishing just outside the 3-mile limit of NY/NJ. They are fishing legally, but we believe threaten the local population of bunker in the area where whales feed.”
The Gotham Whale policy:
“While supporting long term regulatory and policy changes in the actions below, we believe that influencing the Omega Company directly could have an immediate and beneficial effect. Our strategy is to direct public attention to the problem and exert pressure in terms of public relations for Omega Protein. We hope the Company will see fit to find other fishing grounds. Our suggestion would be to fish at least 20 miles from the entrance of NY Harbor. Gotham Whale has been documenting humpback feeding in this area since 2011 and we would like it to continue. We are also appealing to the owners of Omega Protein to further persuade them to leave the bunker for the whales.”
The video (very shaky, because I was on a boat going up and down, up and down!), is set to “Triumphant Return” by Audionautix.
Humpback whales, seen from the American Princess, August 23, 2018
