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Whales, Dolphins, Fish, Sharks, Turtles and Other Marine Life

"One of best wildlife spectacles in the world is the whale and dolphin show off the coast of New England." Emmalee Tarry

Whales and Dolphins

Threats

Humpback Whales Feeding

Check List

Tips for Whale Watching

Cetaceans Baleen Whales	Humpback Whales Fin Whales Minke Whales Right Whales Blue Whales Sei Whale
Cetaceans Toothed Whales	Sperm Whales Pilot Whales Beaked Whales White-sided Dolphin Common Dolphin Bottle-nose Dolphin Risso's Dolphin Harbor Porpoise Spotted Dolphin Striped Dolphin
Seals	Harbor Seals Gray Seals
Sharks	Basking Shark
Fish	Ocean Sunfish
Sea Turtles	Leatherback Turtle Loggerhead Turtle
Other Species	Portugese Man 'o War Sargassum Flying Fish Pyrosome

Check list of some of the marine animals seen off the coast of New England. Printer Friendly

Humpback Whale *Megaptera novaeangliae*	Common and the best whale for watching because it spends a good deal of time on the surface.
Fin Whale *Balaenoptera physalus*	Common
Minke Whale *Balaenopter acutorostrata*	Common
Blue Whale Balenoptera musculu	North Atlantic population small and endangered and mostly further north. One seen on pelagic trip to Cashes Ledge. Two small Blue Whales seen on recent offshore pelagic.
Northern Right Whale *Eubalaena glacialis*	Critically endangered. Seen in migration
Sperm Whale *Physeter macrocephalus*	Offshore, regular. A toothed whale
Pilot Whale *Globicephala melaena*	Not usually on Stellwagen Bank until late fall. A toothed whale.
Cuvier's Beaked Whale	Off shore trips to the continental shelf edge. A toothed whale.
Harbor Porpoise Phocoena phocoena	Common in the Gulf of Maine, but not a boat followers and not usually seen from whale watching boats. Appears only briefly on the surface and then swims away underwater.
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus	Common but not seen on every trip. Rides bow-waves. Look for gray above and behind the eye with white oval area on side.
Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis	Common on offshore trips. Not usually seen on Stellwagen Bank. Rides bow-waves. Yellow above and behind the eye.
Bottle-nosed Dolphin Tursiops truncatus	Common on offshore trips. Not usually seen on Stellwagen Bank
Risso's Dolphin Grampus griseus	Offshore not on Stellwagon Bank
Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina	Very common usually close to land. At low tide rest on rocks in Merrimack River. More common Oct - May. Recovering from persecution.
Gray Seal *Halichoerus grypus*	More and more Gray Seals are appearing in our waters. Isle of Shoals, NH
Basking Shark *Cetorrhinus maimus*	More common on offshore trips. Sometimes on Stellwagen Bank. Large planton eating shark. Shows a large and small dark fin on the surface.
Ocean Sunfish Mola mola	Summer especially August. Only shows a single dark fin on the surface.
Leatherback Turtle Dermochelys coriacea	Seen only on trips to the continental shelf edge.
Loggerhead Turtle Caretta caretta	Seen only on trips to the continental shelf edge.
Portuguese Man 'o War Physalia physalis	Seen only in warm water usually indicating you have encountered a core of Gulf Stream Water .

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