Whale Against Ship

This whale carcass was found floating just outside the mouth of the Merrimack River by the Newburyport Whale Watch in early June 1999. The naturalist could not identify it to species, but there was a report of a large ship hitting a Right Whale.

The Right Whale is one of the most endanged species of whales. There is a population of Right Whales that summer in the Bay of Fundy and migrate through the Stellwagen Bank/ Jeffrey Ledge area in spring and fall. This takes them across the major shipping lanes into the port of Boston. Since Stellwagen Bank and a small part of Jeffrey's Ledge are now a National Marine Sanctuary there are regulations for boats in the vicinity of whales. If all of Jeffrey's Ledge were incorporated into the sanctuary, the whales would have more protection. See the Jeffrey'sLedge web page and write your Congressman and Senators. Send them this picture.

When the boat approached this carcass it was surrounded by 100 or more Wilson's Storm-petrels, all of which had flown by the time the picture was taken.