Minke Whale Calf

In a number of places along the coast, capelin have begun to “roll”. When this little fish comes to lay its eggs on the beach, it seems to roll across the sand. Males reach shore first, where they wait for their female counterparts to begin breeding. They squeeze the sides of the females to extract her eggs. With vigorous flaps of the tail, the fish deposit their fertilized eggs in the sand or gravel. There they are protected from the tides and predation until they hatch, about two weeks later. It’s a striking spectacle to witness, both to observe the hordes of fish “rolling” in the waves and to see the people gathered to harvest them by the shovel- or bucket-full. Additionally, the public is invited to share their observations of this natural phenomenon with the Capelin Observers Network of the St. Lawrence Global Observatory in order to better monitor this species that is such a critical link in the food chain.

In the Estuary, well known belugas have once again been photographed by whale enthusiast Renaud Pintiaux. Yorkie was swimming near the ferry docks in Les Escoumins. Yorkie is believed to have been born before 1973, making him one of the oldest belugas we know. In fact, he bears the number DL0062, which means he is the 62^nd individual to have made his entry into the photo-ID catalogue! That day, this male was swimming alone less than 100 metres from shore. A little farther out, three other belugas including Cumulus go about their business, and may have even been communicating with one another despite the distance separating them. Indeed, the sounds emitted by belugas can travel much farther than the human voice can.

In Saint-Irénée on April 29, a dozen or so belugas take advantage of the rising tide. For a good 40 minutes, an observer is able to enjoy their ballet.

More right whales!

Once again, right whales have been spotted during aerial surveys conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Migration is therefore still underway. The planes also observed fin whales in the Honguedo Strait, midway between Anticosti Island and the Gaspé Peninsula.