Breaching Near the Docks, Feeding Near the Beach

Observers are also surprised to see whales lingering near the coast these days, such as in Matamek on the North Shore. In several areas, capelin – a small, fatty fish particularly prized by a number of species – have been “rolling”. When we say that the capelin are “rolling”, it means that this little fish is laying its eggs at the edge of the beaches. Males reach shore first, where they wait for their female counterparts to start breeding. They squeeze the sides of the females to extract the eggs. With vigorous flaps of the tail, the fish deposit the fertilized eggs in the sand or gravel.

Despite the presence of prey near the shore, whales sometimes remain too far offshore to be identified. Such was the case on May 29 off of Pointe du Bout-du-Monde in Forillon National Park in the Gaspé Peninsula. “Way offshore, there was a group of several dozen individuals! It was very far out on the misty horizon, but we could clearly see a good number of spouts at the same time,” says one observer. On June 3, from her home in Cap-Desrosiers, the same observer identified three humpbacks, a blue whale and a minke whale in the span of just a few minutes. Lots of action out in the Gaspé!

Near Sept-Îles in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region, observations have also been rewarding for those who know how and when to watch. On June 2, Jacques Gélineau photographs the blue whale B451, his seventh since the start of the season. He also sees two fin whales and three minke whales.