Whale Frenzy

From the smallest to the largest, whales of all sorts are currently gathered in the St. Lawrence! Harbour porpoises are everywhere, as are minke whales, while belugas surprise observers by straying into the gulf in the middle of summer. In the Sept-Îles and Mingan sectors, large rorquals are making a splash with the presence of fin whales, humpbacks and a single blue whale.

Saguenay Fjord in the spotlight

It’s amazing what a simple evening of whale watching in Tadoussac can bring! For one passionate enthusiast, marine mammals top off a great workday… with whales! From Pointe de l’Islet, she reports her sightings: “18:22, at least 2 or 3 porpoises spotted before momentarily disappearing, then reappearing in front of the small lighthouse near the tidal flats known as Batture aux Alouettes. 18:40, belugas approach Batture aux Alouettes and Pointe-Noire. 18:48, a pair of harbour seals swim together and take turns diving on the St. Lawrence side of Pointe de L’Islet. 18:55, one harbour seal in the fjord and another one 100 m away off Pointe de L’Islet.”

The fin whale Ti-Croche and two or three humpback whales have been roaming the Saguenay-Saint-Laurent Marine Park. “This morning, there were plenty of belugas coming out of the mouth of the fjord,” exclaims one resident. For one naturalist, excursions in the Saguenay produced a number of minke whale sightings. “We manage to see a minke in the fjord every day, and it’s not always the same individual,” he explains. Harbour seals were seen resting in numbers, sometimes in excess of 30 individuals at resting areas called haulouts.

Breaching humpback, feeding minke whales and lots of porpoises

For a whale enthusiast in Franquelin, it was the observation of a breaching humpback that marked the week. It’s tough to go unnoticed when you tip the scales at between 30 and 40 tonnes! Between Baie-Comeau and Franquelin, minke whales, harbour porpoises and a few grey seals were seen.

Near the marina in Baie-Comeau, a feeding minke whale puts on an astonishing display: “It drove the schools of fish toward the wharf and then caught them at the surface,” explains a resident. These dynamic swimmers are renowned for their appetites. Their spectacular surface manoeuvres are thrilling for observers, especially when they can be admired so close to shore! They were not the only species near the marina, as the sighting list also included the smallest cetacean of the St. Lawrence: “Several porpoises, including a mother and her calf. They herded the schools of fish toward the docks to make them easier to catch.”

Belugas in the gulf

Beluga have been the talk of the town over the past week. Their presence off the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula has surprised locals, who aren’t accustomed to seeing them this time of the year. Around ten individuals were seen near Cap-Chat, while a few groups passed between Cloridorme and Sainte-Félicité. GREMM’s scientific director Robert Michaud comments on the situation: “This clearly illustrates that we still don’t know everything about the beluga’s habits.” In Gaspé Bay, a humpback whale, harbour porpoises and a few minke whales have been reported. Near Grande-Vallée, a Gaspé resident reports two large rorquals swimming offshore. He can hear and see their powerful breaths.

Groups of belugas have also been seen on the other side of the St. Lawrence, at Pointe-des-Monts. From the lighthouse site, one naturalist observed up to ten in the same day! On a windy afternoon, a local resident spots three white whales amidst the waves. Two harbour seals and a trio of minke whales were also in the area.

Baleen whales, toothed porpoises

Quite a few folks were surprised last week by the presence of a basking shark in the Gaspé! Was it the same one that was observed in the Mingan sector this week? Six fin whales and a blue whale were also roaming the area, not to mention minke whales. The picture is essentially the same in Sept-Îles, where two humpbacks were also seen. Mysticetes (a.k.a. baleen whales) were therefore present in large numbers! Did you know that baleen is made up of keratin, a protein that is also found in the hair, nails or horns of certain animals?

And let’s not forget about toothed whales, which have been very present in the area, with hundreds of harbour porpoises having been spotted. Also called odontocetes, toothed whale species far outnumber those of their baleen cousins. This group also includes belugas, sperm whales, dolphins, and many others!

Petit rorqual © Andréanne Sylvain

A happy ending

The presence of a North Atlantic right whale in the estuary was cause for much discussion last week. The individual was a young female (“2023 calf of #1812”) that had been ensnared since late June. The right whale was finally freed from its ropes following a successful rescue operation (article in French). Every individual counts for the survival of this endangered species.

Where are the whales this week? Observation map

These data were reported by our network of observers. They give an idea of the presence of whales and in no way represent the actual distribution of whales in the St. Lawrence. Just for fun!

Click on the whale or seal icons to discover the species, the number of individuals, additional information or photos of the sighting. To enlarge the map, click on the icon in the top right-hand corner. The map works well on Chrome and Firefox, but not so well on Safari.

To display the list of sightings, click on the icon in the top left-hand corner.

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.

André Bujold
Odélie Brouillette
Guylaine Côté
Marie-Andrée Charleboix
Michel Comeau
Clara Comeau
Thalia Cohen-Bacry
Laurence Deschênes
Laetitia Desbordes
Pierre-Soleil Dion
Louis-Pierre Ducharme
Ninon Lambs
Jade-Audrey Lavergne
Kevin Maltese-Crottier
Yael Medav
Élizabeth Melis
Camille Nem
Diane Ostiguy
Estelle Pagé
Stephane Pages
Chloé Pazart
Renaud Pintiaux
Pascal Pitre
Aline Remus
Jean Roy
Marie-Josée Roy
René Roy
Guillaume Savard
Anne Sergerie
Christine Stadelmann
Andréanne Sylvain
Véronique Tanguay
Marielle Vanasse

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]!

Observation of the Week - 11/7/2024

Andréanne Forest

Andréanne Forest is the editor-in-chief of Whales Online since may 2022. After studying in environment and biology, she turned to science communication with the goal of making science both accessible and fun. Andréanne wishes to highlight the process of acquiring knowledge while transmitting the desire to learn.