Whale Watching: Viewing the Locomotives of the SeaHave you ever been whale watching on the Bay of Fundy? The Bay of Fundy is known for it’s highest tides in the world. This phenomenon fuels the food chain needed to support the marine life that frequent here!
Whales are no exception!
They are the world’s largest marine mammals! They come to the Bay of Fundy to feed on the nutrient-rich water that the tides create with their churning effect. The whales feed on the vast amounts of krill, squid, and herring commonly found in the area. There are four species of whale that are commonly found in the Bay of Fundy which include: Minke, Humpback, North Atlantic Right Whale, and Finback or Fin Whales. The North Atlantic Right Whale is an endangered species and there are less than four hundred of them in the entire world. About half of them visit the Bay of Fundy every year! New Brunswick whale-watching tours are available from St. Andrews, Grand Manan Island and Campobello Island. It has been my experience that the farther out into the Bay of Fundy the operator goes the better your chances of seeing all four kinds of whales that frequent here! Also, the later in the season the more whales you will see. The North Atlantic Right Whale does not arrive in these waters until mid August. Keep in mind that not all whale-watching companies are created equal either!
Common Bay of Fundy Whales:Humpback Whale: This particular whale measures 40-50 ft long and weighs 25-40 tons. It has a balloon shaped blow. The Humpback whale is so called due to the hump on its back with a dorsal fin on top of the hump. These whales will fluke (lift its tail) when diving. The Humpback whales love to feast on krill and small fish. The shape and color of the dorsal fins and fluke (tail) are as individual as human fingerprints. The Humpback can eat 1&1/2 ton of food each day.Finback Whale: This whale is the second largest only to the blue whale for size and weight. The Finback can be between 40-80 ft long and can weigh 50-70 ton. The Finback whale has a straight, tall blow. It is so named due to the curved dorsal fin near the tail. This whale has a distinctive white patch on the lower right jaw only, while the left side is gray or black. Scientists are still not sure why this is.
North Atlantic Right Whale: This whale is a slow swimmer with a maximum speed of 17km/hr. This species gets its name because it was considered the right whale to hunt due to its a slow swimming abilities, and because floats when dead, making it easy to drag to shore. The North Atlantic Right Whale is the most endangered species of whale with only about 400 left in the world. One distinct characteristic of the Right Whale is that it has no dorsal fin. It can be up to 40-60ft long and weigh up to 100tons. Roughly half of the population of the North Atlantic Right Whales come to the Bay of Fundy each summer to feed on krill and copepods. These whales will fluke (lift tail when diving) and the fluke is very wide.
We were on a whale watching tour off Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick and the company was called Sea Watch Tours. We saw all four of the common whales listed above along with many bird species. The tour was very informative and did we ever see whales! I have 20-30 minutes of video along with some nice pictures. All kinds of whale flukes!! The four-hour trip was just the right amount of time for most people. I could have stayed longer, I could have stayed all night watching the whales, they were amazing!!
Travel Tips:
There are quite a few choices of vessel when it comes to a whale-watching tour. They range from a zodiac, to fishing, to sail boat style. This boat was a sail boat with a load of whale watchers who were in the same area as we were, just off the coast of Grand Manan, New Brunswick.
The tour we were on, called “Sea Watch Tours”, also out of Grand Manan, New Brunswick, was a fishing boat style made specifically for whale watching. “Day’s Catch” was the name of the vessel and it had ample seating for everyone. Once we started to see the whales there was no sitting for me! In fact, I stood up on some of the seats to get a better view. This was permitted on some of the seats but not on the back row due to safety. We all had a great view of the whales. Not all whale tours are alike! Make sure you know exactly what species of whale the operator has been seeing and how many whales they are seeing on each tour. We saw three Humpback, eight North Atlantic Right Whales, and more Finback than we were able to keep track of (more than ten). If you do decide to go on a whale watching tour be sure to dress warm and dress in layers. If it is a good whale watching company they will be going out into the cold water quite far. This significantly changes the temperature of the air around you. With some vessels such as zodiac, you may even get wet, which will make you twice as likely to get cold. The temperature can drop significantly on an evening tour when the sun starts to go down or on a foggy or cloudy day. Take your binoculars, a good camera and your sunscreen. You can burn very quickly out in that salt water.
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The Finback spout is vertical and narrow reaching up to 6 meters. It is one of the fastest swimmers reaching speeds of up to 37km/hr and is justly called the “Locomotive of the Sea”. This whale does not fluke (lift it’s tail) but has been known to leap completely out of the water. The Finback whale can consume 4,000lb of food in a single day!
