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Aquarium researchers spot endangered blue whales off New England twice in 24 hours
In a first-of-its-kind occurrence, three endangered blue whales were recently spotted in two separate instances off the New England coast, according to New England Aquarium researchers. On Feb. 27, scientists with the aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life were flying over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument when they saw a blue whale at the base of Lydonia Canyon. Just 24 hours later, the team saw two other blue whales 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The aquarium said it’s the first time it documented a blue whale in its southern New England survey area.”Seeing blue whales outside of their Canadian feeding grounds is rare in the Atlantic,” said Katherine McKenna, associate scientist with the Cabot Center. “Finding them in two different areas of the ocean just 24 hours apart was a first for us.”Blue whales are an endangered species, and the Western North Atlantic population is believed to consist of only 400-600 individuals. They are generally studied in their summer feeding grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, and sightings outside of this area are relatively uncommon. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, blue whales are the largest animals ever to have existed on Earth and, in the Antarctic, can grow up to about 110 feet and weigh more than 330,000 pounds.Blue whales were spotted by aquarium researchers in New England waters just two other times: once in the monument in 2020 and once off the coast of Maine in the fall of 2023. Other research teams in the area have sporadically sighted blue whales in New England.
In a first-of-its-kind occurrence, three endangered blue whales were recently spotted in two separate instances off the New England coast, according to New England Aquarium researchers.
On Feb. 27, scientists with the aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life were flying over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument when they saw a blue whale at the base of Lydonia Canyon.
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Just 24 hours later, the team saw two other blue whales 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
The aquarium said it’s the first time it documented a blue whale in its southern New England survey area.
“Seeing blue whales outside of their Canadian feeding grounds is rare in the Atlantic,” said Katherine McKenna, associate scientist with the Cabot Center. “Finding them in two different areas of the ocean just 24 hours apart was a first for us.”
Blue whales are an endangered species, and the Western North Atlantic population is believed to consist of only 400-600 individuals. They are generally studied in their summer feeding grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, and sightings outside of this area are relatively uncommon.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, blue whales are the largest animals ever to have existed on Earth and, in the Antarctic, can grow up to about 110 feet and weigh more than 330,000 pounds.
Blue whales were spotted by aquarium researchers in New England waters just two other times: once in the monument in 2020 and once off the coast of Maine in the fall of 2023. Other research teams in the area have sporadically sighted blue whales in New England.
