Whales are no stranger to NYC waters–in fact, they’re spotted so often that at this point we should’ve taken a page out of Dory’s book and learned to speak whale–and now new research has proved this.
According to a new paper published by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists, the New York Bight is an important year-round habitat for endangered fin whales.
Fin whales are the second largest whale species living today, surpassed in size only by blue whales. Male fin whales sing loud, repetitive songs that can be heard across large distances, and these songs are actually what aided scientists throughout their research.
The new paper reveals new insights about the presence of fin whales in waters off New York and New Jersey–ranging from Montauk, NY to Cape May, NJ–and is the result of scientists examining 653-days-worth of fin whale song patterns.
Whale songs were detected every month of the year, though they were most prevalent in the fall to winter (September–December). These findings, combined with other recent research, indicate that the New York Bight is an important year-round habitat for both foraging and breeding fin whales.
And, even better than just showing the importance of the New York Bight to this whale species, the research also provides valuable information that can be used to inform best practices and develop effective management strategies needed to better protect these endangered whales, such as implementing seasonal boat speed restrictions if a species is only present at certain times of the year.
Carissa King-Nolan, a WCS Assistant Marine Conservation Scientist and lead author, stated:
We used passive acoustic monitoring to examine monthly and yearly patterns in fin whale song from 2017 to 2020. These song patterns gave us valuable insight into the year-round presence and behavior of fin whales.
As a result of the research, WCS and its partners are developing a region-specific strategy for US management authorities that addresses the specific threats to endangered fin whales in the region, in order to better protect these massive creatures.
However, study co-author and Associate Marine Conservation Scientist at WCS, Dr. Mindi Rekdahl stated that “more information is needed about the distribution and behavior of fin whales” to truly protect these whales.
Dr. Howard Rosenbaum, Director of WCS’s Ocean Giants Program and study co-author, stated:
Perhaps it is time give some further consideration to fin whales as NY/NJ’s whale…it is truly remarkable that the second largest animal to have ever lived on this earth is here in the New York Bight year-round off our coasts. Hopefully, our efforts will lead to more efforts and best practices to better protect these amazing, endangered animals in the NY Bight.
Those interested in reading the paper can do so here.