Humpback Comeback: Species Recovery in Monterey Bay and the Pacific; current numbers not seen since before commercial whaling! The amazing recovery of this dynamic species has been evident in Monterey Bay this fall. Monterey is a hotspot of activity as an area of upwelling where many Humpback Whales are found feeding every year - but this year has been exceptional! In previous years, we have been lucky to see 25 Humpback Whales, with most days with fewer than five; this year, most days since September 3 have exceeded fifty humpbacks - with some days over 200 whales! On many days we have seen huge concentrations of humpbacks with groups of 5-25 humpbacks, with dozens of more blows in the distance. Humpback whales come here to feed: they eat krill, anchovies, herring, sardines, or nearly any small schooling fish. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has shown an amazing fluctuation in anchovy population over time; it appears that we are currently in an anchovy peak year in Monterey Bay. Our whale watching boats are equipped with depth sounders that look directly below the boat. In previous years we typically find balls of bait, a few schools of fish in disconnected groups scattered around the feeding areas; this year, areas where we have been seeing the most humpback whales have had a continuous blanket of baitfish extending for over a mile - in some places over 200 feet thick with fish! In 1905 - before the era of commercial whaling - there was an estimated population of over 15,000 Humpback Whales in the North Pacific. But by 1966 - when the US banned commercial whaling - that same population had been reduced to less than 1,500. When Cascadia Research Collective started studying Humpback Whales along North America’s west coast over 20 years ago, there were only ~570 humpback whales in the population along the US West Coast; now that same population has increased to well over 1,000! The entire population in the North Pacific is estimated at over 21,000 whales— higher than the pre-whaling estimates! What an amazing comeback! Please come up to Monterey Bay and see this for yourself: the whalewatching experience of a lifetime! This outstanding blog summary was written by Monterey Bay Whale Watchs Katie Dunbar. -Alisa Schulman-Janiger
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:35:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015