North Atlantic right whales spotted in the Bay of Fundy four days in a row

For the first time in 2023, the endangered North Atlantic right whale has been spotted in the Bay of Fundy.

On Saturday Quoddy Link Marine, a whale watching tour group out of St. Andrews, N.B., checked an area of the water not visited in around a week. Upon arrival, the crew quickly spotted the rare mammal, which has been seen out in the open water by various groups each day since.

“Both Claire and I just yelled right whale,” recalls Quoddy Link Marine Senior Naturalist Danielle Dion, who hadn’t seen a right whale in person in the bay since 2019. “When I realized it was a right whale the tears were flowing and my legs were shaking.”

Multiple groups from St. Andrews, as well as tours off the island of Grand Manan, N.B., and Eastport, ME, have caught a glimpse of one of the words rarest creatures. Upon seeing the whales Saturday, Dion says she immediately contacted the Canadian Whale Institute and began documenting the encounter, successfully identifying four unique whales.

“The whales we did see and were able to identify are whales that have visited the Bay of Fundy in the past,” Dion beams. “In the past decade the North Atlantic right whale has basically abandon the habitat of the Bay of Fundy due to a lack of food so it’s not a species you expect to see.”

Dion says there are only about 340 North Atlantic right whales remaining on earth. She says in her 22 years of touring the Bay, she has documented anywhere from 100 to 150 different right whales.

“I’ve photographed about 40 per cent of the population,” admits Dion. “Which is mind blowing but pretty awesome.”

The most common place to find North Atlantic right whales is in the gulf of St. Lawrence, but Dion says only about a third of the global population has been found there.

“We need to protect them,” Dion says of one of the world’s most rare animals. “We need to prevent the vessel strikes and the entanglements that are happening to give these whales a future.”

Ahead of his afternoon tour Wednesday, Wayne Burley had high hopes to experience the once in a lifetime chance.

“We signed up some time ago before the news hit so there actually were right whales spotted,” says Burley. “I know the person I heard on radio said something about the boat we are going to be on so hopefully they know where to go so with any luck, yeah it is exciting.”

Upon first seeing the whales Saturday Dion didn’t expect to get so lucky the next day, and again the next day and the next day. She urges caution to whale watchers of any type to never get your hopes to high.

“There is never any sort of guarantee to see any whale when you go on any whale watch,” Dion reminds tour goers. “And I would never ever advertise seeing right whales out of St. Andrews. It’s just such a special and rare sighting.”

Quoddy Link Marine will continue doing tours until Oct. 15 when the main season comes to a close.