Blue Whales Abound between Sept-Îles and Les Bergeronnes!

The blue whale is a gulper. This feeding technique consists of swimming toward a school of its main food, krill, opening its elastic mouth and engulfing an enormous quantity of water (up to 70,000 litres) and prey. The water then gushes into its oral cavity, curling the tongue back over itself toward the back of the animal’s mouth. The blue whale then closes its mouth to expel the water through its baleen plates. The latter act as a filter by retaining the krill. This process is repeated several times, allowing the blue whale to ingest up to 16 tonnes of krill a day, or about 12% of its body weight. This feeding method is essential to meet the colossal energy needs of this cetacean, which can weigh up to 135 tonnes.

A Fisheries and Oceans Canada study published in 2018 revealed that krill is more abundant in the St. Lawrence Estuary between December and February. The dominant species prefer waters at 1-2°C and 2-5°C, respectively, and only adult krill are present due to the fact that the currents carry the young toward the gulf. Young krill generally remain in the top 10 to 15 metres of water (which flow toward the ocean), while mature organisms prefer deeper waters.

A woman from Les Escoumins is delighted by her first sighting of belugas this year: “There were two of them off Pointe à la Croix in Les Escoumins, and their white backs were clearly visible! I was very happy.” The presence of four white whales was also reported on February 22 at Baie-Sainte-Catherine at the mouth of the Saguenay. The individuals seemed to be heading toward the St. Lawrence. Three white whales were also recorded off Matane, according to the map of Vigie Marine, a marine mammal sighting visualization tool. Lastly, in Les Bergeronnes, a few harbour seals were seen resting on the rocks near shore.

Thanks to all our collaborators!

Special thanks go out to all our observers who share their love for marine mammals with us! Your encounters with cetaceans and pinnipeds are always a pleasure to read and discover.

On the water or from shore, it is your eyes that give life to this column.

Odélie Brouillette
Thalia Cohen-Bacry
Laetitia Desbordes
Diane Ostiguy
Stéphane Pagès
Renaud Pintiaux
Pascal Pitre
Maurice Raymond
Andréanne Sylvain
Marielle Vanasse
J. Varin

And to all the others!

Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the following teams that also share their sightings:

Sept-Îles Research and Education Centre (CERSI)
Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM)
Marine Mammal Observation Network (MMON)
Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (QMMERN)
Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS)

Would you also like to share your observations?

Have you seen any marine mammals in the St. Lawrence? Whether it’s a spout offshore or just a couple of seals, drop us a line and send your photos to [email protected]!