Over 160 whales were spotted just south of the Vineyard and Nantucket and 7 different whale species were identified during a single survey as reported by marine observers last week.
Of these species spotted was the sei whale, with 93 found, one of the highest concentrations of that particular species that the survey team had ever seen during a single survey flight.
A Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s North Atlantic Right Whale team spotted the whales on May 25.
“It’s not uncommon to see a lot of whales in the area, just because there’s a lot of food this time of year,” said Teri Frady, Chief of Communications at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “But it’s unusual to see this many on one particular day.”
Typically surveys by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center occur daily this time of year, although Frady said it’s hard to give an exact number, as it’s necessary for a plane to be available and weather to be decent. And, surveys don’t always happen in the same area.
The number of species identified from this survey, she said, is somewhat rare.
“It’s really unusual to have that much variety in a single day for us,” she said. “On any given survey, you might see one or two of those species.”
Aside from sei whales, 36 humpbacks, 21 fin whales and minke, sperm and North Atlantic right whales were also spotted, according to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center report.
Two orcas were also spotted as well, one of them bobbing with a tuna in its mouth.
Sightings of orca whales around the Vineyard are rare. Last year, a pod of orcas was spotted south of Nantucket, the first orca spotting in the area that surveyors had reported.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, whales are highly vulnerable to human activities in the ocean, although they exist at the top of the food chain and possess an important role when it comes to the health of marine environments.
The sei whale specifically, one of the survey’s more notable findings, was once a primary target for commercial whaling. Now, the species can be harmed through “scientific whaling”— the permitted killing of whales to be treated for scientific research — as well as pollution and entanglement in fishing gear, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
As a whole, Frady said the number of whales spotted during the May survey does not necessarily indicate that each was an individual whale. Due to difficulty spotting movement, it’s possible one individual could have been counted twice. “But still, it’s a lot of whales,” she said.
