Why Are The Whales Here?
The
whales gather in the waters near Gloucester, Massachusetts throughout the Summer months for one primary
reason...to feed. The whales feed on the
masses of schooling fish such as Herring, Sand Lance, Mackerel,
Copepods, and Krill that gather here in these cold, nutrient rich
waters to breed.
These are the same masses of fish that led to Gloucester being
the famous fishing port that it is today. Some of the
larger whale species, such as Humpback Whales and Finback
Whales, can
consume over 3,000 pounds of fish per day!
These
whales, however, don't remain
in the area all year long. Many species of whales, especially Humpback
whales,
live highly a migratory lifestyle. While the thick layer of blubber
(fat) that an adult whale has could easily keep it warm and
well-insulated all winter long, a newborn whale does not
have a protective blubber layer and must have warmer water in
order to
survive its first few months of life. Therefore, the whales are
forced to leave our area in the late fall and travel to warmer
regions to mate and give birth to their young. The major
mating and calving grounds for this particular population of
Humpback Whales is located just north the Caribbean Sea (on
a few shallow water banks just north of the Dominican Republic). Unfortunately
for the whales, the warm water of the Caribbean and
surrounding area has much less oxygen and
dissolved nutrients than does the cold waters of Stellwagen Bank and
Jeffrey's Ledge. Therefore the Caribbean exhibits
less productivity and contains fewer small fish species for food.
Therefore while the whales are in the Caribbean during the winter months
they are fasting... they eat little or nothing for months at a
time! During this long winter fast an adult Humpback Whale
may lose up to 25% of it's total body weight (up to 20,000
pounds!). Now you can understand why they eat so much
during the summer! "Our" Whales must migrate back and forth, traveling
thousands of miles between colder waters in the north where food is
abundant during the Summer and warmer waters more suitable for
giving birth in the Winter.
Continue exploring "THE WHALES"...