Sightings data from whale watching platforms helped to identify Stellwagen Bank as an important area for whales and served as a foundation for its designation as a National Marine Sanctuary. Over the years, whale watching data shared with scientists have contributed to over 75 peer-reviewed papers on aspects of their biology and life history 4, including some of the first information on frequency of calving and reproduction 5,6 site fidelity and timing of annual arrival on the feeding grounds 7 distribution and habitat choice 8,9 and stock identity and movements between feeding and breeding grounds 10-12. For example, the NGO Whale and Dolphin Conservation ( WDC) contributes photos to both catalogs from its activities and its partnerships with whale watch operators in the Gulf of Maine. It also receives significant contributions from whale watching effort in the Gulf of Maine, often through collaborating NGOs. ![]() The North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalog (NAHWC), curated by Allied Whale, College of the Atlantic, facilitates studies of humpback whales across all of the feeding and breeding grounds in the North Atlantic. An estimated 25% of photographs in the catalogue have been contributed by whale watch collaborators. Today the catalog includes photographs of approximately 3,000 individuals seen at least once since the 1970s. The Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog contains photos documenting each time that an individual whale was encountered, accompanied by detailed information for each individual, including age, sex, relatedness to other whales, number of offspring, observed behavior, distribution of sighting locations and evidence for human impacts (e.g. Individual humpback whales are recognizable over time by the unique colouration on the underside of their tail flukes as well as the serrations on the trailing edges of their flukes and permanent scarring and notches on their dorsal fins 3. While many different methods are used by researchers to study whales, photo-identification of individual whales is one of the cornerstones that underpins many other aspects of research. Many NGOs and whale researchers in the Gulf of Maine have since depended on whale watching data to conduct their work over the past four decades, with some strong, collaborative relationships supporting whale research and conservation. A data collection methodology was distributed in the 1980s, and a multi-decade community whale-naming process was established to ensure consistent and effective communication about individual whales. Other groups followed suit, resulting in a rich partnership of research, education and industry throughout the region. CCS placed staff on the whale watching vessels to collect data for its research and to simultaneously serve as naturalist guides, enriching tourists’ experiences 1. Charles “Stormy” Mayo, joined the first trips by the Dolphin Fleet. The Center’s whale research had its foundation in commercial whale watching, when CCS scientist, Dr. The Center for Coastal Studies ( CCS), also based in Provincetown, Massachusetts was one of the first organizations to begin researching whales in the Gulf of Maine. Today, whale watching in the sanctuary is among New England’s most notable recreational industries 1,2.ĭedicated research on whales in the Gulf of Maine also started in the 1970’s. This marked the inauguration of commercial whale watching on the U.S. The Gulf of Maine has been a popular whale watching destination since 1975 when a fishing charter company (the Dolphin Fleet) first took passengers from Provincetown, Massachusetts to the whale feeding grounds on the Stellwagen Bank. ![]() ![]()
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