CBC Documentary "Land and Sea" looks at the Bay of Fundy

If you missed the re-broadcast this past weekend of CBC's Documentary Series "Land and Sea" which looked at the Bay of Fundy DON'T WORRY, you can watch it online!

It is a fabulous look at the Bay of Fundy, please take the time to watch it and don't forget to vote for the Bay of Fundy for one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Our 2011 whale watching season is getting close, our opening day is Saturday, June 25th. Hope to see you SOON,

Cheers,

Danielle

Right Whale 3123 Entangled

Hey everyone, I have some bad news to share (it may be bad but it could be worse). Right whale 3123 has been photographed by Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies entangled. Below is an aerial photograph from the sighting and the account from the researchers (the whale is skim feeding and the red line is on the right mouthline).

Depth and clarity do not allow for an accurate assessment and it is unknown if the point of attachment is the right mouth or flipper, or both. The left mouthline appears to be clean. It is unclear if the material is red rope or netting. No trailing gear can be seen. While the entanglement may not be life threatening the whale should be monitored for further assessment.

We sighted right whale 3123 and her calf on October 12/10 on the edge of the Owen Basin. Her and her calf would have gone their own way sometime in the winter months. Below is a photograph I took last October of right whale 3123.

Cheers,

Danielle

Sodapop is gear-free...WAHOO

Hello everyone, it's Danielle with Quoddy Link Marine with some great news, Sodapop, a young humpback whale we spent some time with in 2009 has been sighted gear-free on Stellwagen Bank off the coast of MA. The last sighting of Sodapop was in the Bay of Fundy on September 11, 2010 by the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station and this was the situation then:

Observers noted that the whale had dark line exiting the left side of the mouth and trailing alongside the flank and aft of the fluke to a tangle of line. This line sometimes fouled the flukes. No buoy was visible during the sighting and an assessment of the right side was not possible. The PCCS humpback studies program identified the whale as Sodapop, based on fluke shots from the sighting. Responders with the Campobello response team will attempt a search today.

The pictures below are from that sighting and that was the last time Sodapop was sighted...until yesterday...

Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies had a sighting of Sodapop yesterday on Stellwagen Bank

The humpback whale Sodapop was sighted yesterday (2 May 2011) by a PCCS vessel based team near the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank (42 08.06'N, 70 19.16'W). The team identified the whale based on fluke patterns and followed the whale to assess whether it was still entangled. Through the course of the sighting the whale began pectoral slapping and breaching which gave the team the opportunity to confirm that the whale is now gear free. This is the first known gear-free sighting of this whale.

The picture below was taken by PCCS yesterday

This is great news for Sodapop and I am keeping my fingers (and my toes) crossed for another entangled whale, EKG, who was last seen anchored fast to the ocean floor off the coast of ME earlier this year. All of us at Quoddy Link Marine are hopeful we will see EKG on her summer feeding ground in the Bay of Fundy.

Cheers,

Danielle