Appendix C

THE HUMPBACK WHALE

By Regina Asmutis-Silvia

Executive Director, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society–North America

At nearly fifty feet (fifteen meters) in length and weighing in at around eighty thousand pounds (thirty-six thousand kilograms), humpback whales are considered to be a “medium-sized” baleen whale. Hunted to near extinction during the heyday of commercial whaling, these whales were declared an endangered species in the United States in 1972 and remain so to this day.

It was in the early 1970s that the songs of humpback whales first endeared them to us. A popular record released by National Geographic in 1971 was so embraced by people that these complex sounds were sent into orbit, literally, in 1977 as part of a compilation called “sounds of earth.” The whales’ propensity for aerial acrobatics through full-body breaching and flipper slapping, along with their melodic songs, made them the perfect flagships for the 1970s “Save the Whales” movement.

However, humpbacks are not saved yet. Entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes continue to take their toll, as do habitat degradation, chemical and noise pollution and perhaps even our own fascination with them.

Humpbacks are one of the most targeted species by whale watching vessels. More than one million passengers each year board vessels off the coast of New England hoping for a chance to view one of these majestic creatures. Done correctly, whale watching is an educational experience that can lead to long-term conservation. Done poorly, whales are harassed and unable to consume the more than two thousand pounds (nine hundred kilograms) of fish they need daily to survive their 1,500-mile (2,400-kilometer) migration to the warm, but food-poor, tropical waters of their West Indies breeding area. If they do not gain the four to eight tons required during the feeding season, they may not survive to return again the next year.

Fortunately, many do return over and over again. We know them by the names they have been given based on a unique pattern on their fluke (tail), or perhaps a scar, or maybe even by their personality. Salt, the grand dame of all humpbacks, was first identified in 1976 and named for the white pigmentation pattern on her dorsal fin, as if someone poured salt down her back. She is a mother to at least twelve and grandmother to seven. We know Bandit not just for the mask-like marks on his fluke but also for his unique style of kick feeding, where he slashes, rather than slaps, his tail to stun fish. More than eight hundred whales frequent the Gulf of Maine off the coast of New England, and about three hundred or so routinely visit the waters off Cape Cod.

While we may know who they are, we still have much to learn about them and their culture and how they interact, share and communicate. Humpback whales continue to be a symbol of hope for ocean conservation and for our future.