Surface Feeding and Seals on the Ice Floes

“In Franquelin on December 20, a group of harp seals appeared near the shore, but with the falling snow, it wasn’t long before I lost sight of them!” shares a resident of Baie-Comeau.

In the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park area, harp seals continue to be the talk of the town. According to one naturalist and wildlife photographer, over one hundred individuals were reportedly observed drifting offshore on the sea ice between Christmas and New Year’s Day. He also noted the presence of several belugas in the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord on January 6, their white backs blending in with the passing ice floes. In Saint-Siméon, a seal was swimming near the wharf, where it appeared to be feeding.

Hundreds of harp seals were also basking on the sea ice in the vicinity of Gaspé Bay earlier this month, but were no longer there in recent days, explains one local resident. On the same shore but farther west, one of our subscribers shares a strange coincidence that occurred during her observation a few days before Christmas: “On the road known as Chemin des Loups-Marins [Translator’s note: harp seals are sometimes referred to in French as loup-marins] at the western end of Saint-Simon-de-Rimouski […], I tallied over 300 of them on the ice, spread across a distance of about 5 km.”

Between Franquelin and Baie-Comeau, observers were definitely not disappointed! “It was crazy, it was like a fin whale festival, they were feeding at the surface […], I was ecstatic!” exclaims a seasoned observer from the region. Indeed, three fin whales and two blue whales were feeding with their mouths wide open, undoubtedly feasting on tiny crustaceans in the area. Physically demanding, this technique allows the blue whale to gulp down an estimated 90 tonnes of water – the equivalent of its own weight! Then, by filtering the water through its baleen plates, the animal manages to keep only the krill in its mouth.

Elsewhere in the St. Lawrence, large whales have been conspicuous… by their absence. This time of year, they are most likely en route back to their breeding and calving grounds in the Caribbean. The few individuals still lingering in Canadian waters have surely found enough to eat!