Quoddy Link Marine

01/22/2025

Thick sea fog in chilly St. Andrews this morning. How cold is it where you are?
Thank You to Kevin for sharing

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01/20/2025

NARW UPDATE
Right whale calf #7 has been spotted 🐳🐳

01/20/2025

Snowy St Andrews. If you are in town Honeybeans has you covered for a warm treat ❤️❤️

We are braving the cold today, open until 2pm!

01/17/2025

NARW UPDATE
The NEAq right whale aerial survey team documented more than 75 right whales in the Gulf of Maine in the past week. It is sightings like this that remind us we really need to reconsider the idea of a more traditional migration with NA right whales. Is it possible that really only the calving females make the trip south? Is this sighting a larger indication of shifting ocean currents? Questions that many great researchers over several organizations in both Canada and the US are working very hard to answer.

01/17/2025

NARW UPDATE
Calf #6!!
Grand Teton, #1145, has been sighted with her 9th known calf. Although I have never documented Grand Teton in the Bay of Fundy I have photographed her son Zion, #3245 and her daughter #2145 who had a calf of her own named Sharkbait ( #3945) all in 2009.
"Catalog #1145 ‘Grand Teton’ has a long sighting history dating back to 1981 when she was first sighted with a calf, which means she was already an adult in 1981 and could be much older than 44 years."

01/15/2025

I know I talk a lot (OK A LOT, LOL) about North Atlantic right whales on here...but did you know there is a North Pacific right whale?? Today I attended a symposium on the North Pacific right whale with so many passionate people trying to educate and learn more about this elusive and endangered species.
Did you know they actually have been found to sing!!??!!
Here's some information
https://www.northpacificrightwhale.org
And more on the North Pacific right whale song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4qCcuChtNs

Increasing protections, awareness and support for the endangered North Pacific right whale. Come learn about these whales!

01/15/2025

I'm presenting at the North Atlantic Whale Watch Naturalists Association Annual Meeting on our 2024 season and I wanted to share this highlight of a leatherback turtle we spotted off White Island in July/24

01/05/2025

Sunday smiles
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E166FT9Lg/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/04/2025

She certainly looks different in the snowy days of winter!
Head Harbour Light/East Quoddy Head Light at the northern end of Campobello Island, NB

Fresh snow at Head Harbour Lighthouse (aka East Quoddy Lighthouse).

12/31/2024

NARW UPDATE

Right Whale Calves #4 and #5!

Two new right whale calves were sighted by aerial survey teams on December 30, 2024! Catalog #3503 ‘Caterpillar’ and #3540 ‘Blackheart’ were both sighted off the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) in Ponte Vedra, FL.

Catalog #3503 ‘Caterpillar’ is 20 years old, and this is her first calf. Catalog #3540 ‘Blackheart’ is also 20 years old, and this is her second calf. She last gave birth 12 years ago during the 2013 calving season. Recall, Caterpillar and Blackheart were sighted in the Southeast U.S. calving grounds earlier this winter. Both females were identified as ‘potential mothers’ and have been in the area for about a month.

On December 18, 2024, researchers off Virginia spotted Catalog #4540 with the third calf of the season. Catalog #4540 is 12 years old, and this is her first calf.

Right whales have been sighted all along the Eastern Seaboard in recent weeks. Low visibility and windy conditions can hamper research efforts locally, sometimes for extended periods of time. Boaters are encouraged to check for sightings in their area, but to also post a lookout and always use caution, particularly in reduced visibility (fog), low light, and rough seas. Please report right whale sightings to 1-877-WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343) or to the USCG on VHF Ch. 16. Right Whale Sightings: https://whalemap.org/

12/29/2024

A dear friend and colleague of Quoddy Link, John Delaney, took these photos of common dolphins off Lubec! An uncommon sight in the Quoddy region, we would more typically see Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Common dolphins are sometimes seen in the open Bay past Grand Manan and we were lucky enough to see some in October on our crew trip.
Common dolphins are distinguishable by they more prominent beak, hour glass pattern on their side and their smaller size and behaviour
Thank you John for sharing

12/24/2024

NARW UPDATE
More about the 3 entangled whales seen this past month off the southern US coast

Three North Atlantic right whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off the coast of the U.S. just this month, according to information from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries.

The first two were spotted on Dec. 9 off the coast of Nantucket, Mass. The 13-year-old female and three-year-old male were spotted by survey teams.

The most recent sighting took place on Dec. 16, when another juvenile male was seen off the coast of North Carolina. That whale was last seen gear-free in the Bay of Fundy two months ago.

"Lobster and crab gear is the biggest threat because that's the most common fishery," said Amy Knowlton, senior scientist with the New England Aquarium.

"Any sort of fixed-gear fishing where the gear is put out to sea and then the fisherman leaves for some number of days and then comes back to retrieve it … it's a risk to whales."

The North Atlantic right whale is critically endangered with fewer than 400 remaining.

NOAA scientists say the juvenile male in the first sighting has a thick fishing line across its head and back and is not expected to survive. The female is expected to survive.

The whale spotted off North Carolina has several lines crossing over and wrapping its head and mouth, and two buoys attached to the line. There is also a fishing line trailing the whale.

"They're swimming for long periods of time with their mouth wide open, through these patches of plankton," Knowlton said, describing how the whale likely got entangled.

"But when they hit that line, they freak out, they just start rolling and thrashing. They know this is not a good thing for them to be dealing with."

The third whale is also not expected to survive because the gear prevents it from feeding.

More surveying, more sightings

Knowlton says while scientists will often try to disentangle the animal, current weather conditions aren't safe enough to try to help the most recently spotted whale.

"In many cases the whales are very far offshore or they're found later in the day and there's no way to get a team out there safely to do that work," she said. "And even if a team could get out there, it's a very difficult process and not always successful."

The first two whales will be monitored, according to a media release.

Knowlton estimates that teams try to help about 25 per cent of entangled whales, and of that, about half the attempts are considered successful.

A whale swims through dark blue water.

"[Canada and the U.S.] have been putting in measures to address entanglement risk," Knowlton said. "But I think what we're finding is that the changes are not extensive enough to turn things around for this species because entanglements are still happening."

Knowlton says she wants the public to know about the risks to North Atlantic right whales, and other large whales, to help with advocacy efforts.

"This is a species that can be saved, and we hope that as a community of people who both love the whales, and who use the oceans to make a living, that we can come together to keep working on these solutions and helping industries adapt to different ways of doing their work," she said.

12/23/2024

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
Be Kind, Be Merry and Check in on each other
🐳🎄
All The Best,
Danielle and the crew of Quoddy Link Marine

12/23/2024

Have you seen a snowy St. Andrews? The whales have the right idea heading south ;)

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12/21/2024

NARW UPDATE

On December 16, 2024, an aerial survey team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute saw an entangled North Atlantic right whale approximately 60 miles east of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, making this the third observed entanglement in a week. The whale was identified as right whale #5132, a juvenile male born in 2021. He was last seen gear-free in October 2024 in the Bay of Fundy. He has several lines crossing over and wrapping his head and mouth. Two buoys are attached to the line. There is also a single line trailing from the whale, which extends approximately 100 feet behind the flukes.

Current weather conditions in the area are not safe for mounting an immediate response. As future conditions permit, we will work with authorized responders and trained experts to monitor the whale and determine if entanglement responses are possible.

Learn more about these recent entanglements: https://bit.ly/3iB1282

Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit 26919. The survey was conducted by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute with funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Potentially identifying marks on the gear have been blurred to protect the privacy of individuals.

On December 16, 2024, an aerial survey team from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute saw an entangled North Atlantic right whale approximately 60 miles east of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, making this the third observed entanglement in a week. The whale was identified as right whale #5132, a juvenile male born in 2021. He was last seen gear-free in October 2024 in the Bay of Fundy. He has several lines crossing over and wrapping his head and mouth. Two buoys are attached to the line. There is also a single line trailing from the whale, which extends approximately 100 feet behind the flukes.

Current weather conditions in the area are not safe for mounting an immediate response. As future conditions permit, we will work with authorized responders and trained experts to monitor the whale and determine if entanglement responses are possible.

Learn more about these recent entanglements: https://bit.ly/3iB1282

Credit: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit 26919. The survey was conducted by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute with funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Potentially identifying marks on the gear have been blurred to protect the privacy of individuals.

12/21/2024

NARW UPDATE
Some great news, Chiminea, who was sighted entangled in the Gulf of St Lawrence this summer has been resisted resighted gear free ❤️🐳❤️

Oh and one more thing to start us off right for the holidays - Chiminea is gear free!!! 🎉🥳

If you don't remember, the Campobello Whale Rescue Team got a call about Chiminea the right whale who was entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this past September. Unfortunately, when the Team went to look for her, she was nowhere to be found 😥 However, on Dec 18th, the NEFSC team () spotted her during a flight southeast of Nantucket - GEAR FREE ‼️

This can happen sometimes - whales come free of the gear on their own. Unfortunately, entanglement events can have effects even after the whale is no longer actively entangled, so we'll be hoping to see her around this summer and confirm she's doing well!

We are very happy to see she has shed this gear and wanted to share the happy news with you all!

Images collected under NOAA Permit #27066
Photo credit: NOAA/NEFSC/Alison Ogilvie