Thursday Sept 5th, I went to Brooklyn to go on the American Princess with Gotham Whale. The sea conditions – NE winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft, occasionally to 6 ft. Wave Detail: SE 5 ft at 9 seconds. Air temp 73. WOW what a difference a day makes, it was choppy!
We pushed out of sheepshead bay made the turn around the Breezy Point Jetty, THE other END of Long Island and made our way east. Capt. Tom at the helm with Capt. Jack, Christine and Kim working the boat and tending to the customers. It did not take long to see our first whale and it was an epic first encounter, we were greeted with a massive breach. Matter of fact if we did not see the breach and massive splash, we might have passed the whale. The whale did a few more breaches and started to subsurface feed. The Bunker was not snapping on the surface, but you could still see the groups of bunkers in the water, but they were 5-10 feet under the water. There were other blows seen but we stayed with this whale. It was zigzagging all around the boat dealing with the choppy sea. The whale was Very very close at times and actually went directly under the boat. And popped up on the other side half under the boat and half not. The whale did some cool moves like it kept sticking its rostrum (the upper jaw or snout of a whale). We were talking about if the whale was doing a very low to the water spy hop, maybe, but do not know. The seas were getting bigger, the whale started to rest, and we went on our way. 
Had a great trip out on the AP with Gotham Whale we saw one humpback. A big thank you to the Capt. Tom and Capt. Frank and the crew of the American Princess for a safe and amazing whale watch. Try to get out to Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay and get on this whale watch before they shut down in Mid-November. 

The AP pushed off with Gotham Whale at Noon and returned around 345p. The weather was perfect with low humidity, 80 degrees with W winds 5 to 10 kt, becoming S late. Seas around 0-1 ft. Wave Detail: S 1 ft at 5 seconds and SE 1 ft at 9 seconds.

The whale watch started before we pushed off. There were a few baby Cownose Rays swimming around the AP at the dock. We pushed off and Capt. Frank with is trusted crew of spotter’s headed out of lower NY harbor, past the Breezy Point Jetty and wow what a sight the ocean was flat! You could see any disturbance on the water miles away.

We came upon hundreds and hundreds of dolphins. Actually, for the whole entire trip Dolphins where everywhere you looked. There were many dolphin calf’s, juvenile dolphins, pregnant Mom’s, and something we normally do not see, offshore Dolphins were in the mix. These Offshore Dolphins are huge! Generally, these offshore dolphins reach lengths around 10 to 14 feet and weigh over 1,000 pounds. Compared to inshore Dolphins who are much smaller. The dolphins were in a playful mood and started surfing the back wake of the American Princess as we moved on looking for whales. It did not take long for us to met up with a humpback and what we saw was spectacular.

The whale and dolphin pod started playing with each other. They were going at it! The Dolphins were all over this whale and the whale was loving it. The whale inverted and swam upside-down pectoral fin slapping along the water while the dolphins were interacting with the whale. It did a spy hop, a small tail throw and then started lunge feeding. The bait started to surface so the whale did a few feedings and then went back to playing with the dolphins. We saw another blow and went to check out the whale. As we traveled the dolphins were riding the APs wake giving a show. We saw two other whales this day for a total of 4 whales and 500+ Dolphins, baby Cownose Rays, a small sea turtle. A great day out on the American Princess Cruises.

You need to get out and go whale watching! Get out on the American Princess Cruises with Gotham Whale and see what is out there.

Conditions - SW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft and building. Wave Detail: S 5 ft at 8 seconds with a wind 2-3ft chop on top. Visibility 1 to 3 nm with a haze, air temp 88, water temp 70ish.

The whale watch started off at the dock before pushing off, a bunch of Baby Cownose Rays were around the boat. We pushed off and charged out of Sheepshead Bay, passing through Rockaway Inlet and met up with the whales as soon as we hit our destination. On the way out we saw so many Cownose Rays, a small shark, and a few turtles.

A big tail throw was the first interaction followed by some really good lunge feedings. 3 Whales were around the boat at one point with other blows way off in the distance. One of the whales off in the distance did a spectacular breach, the splash was like 20-30 feet high and the slap from the whales crashing on the surface sounded like an explosion, it was impressive. The boat was rocky due to ocean conditions, so I missed the breach and the tail throw but overall, did well capturing a few close passes and lunge feedings. As we exited the 3 whales, we came upon one more humpback zigzagging back and forth subsurface and lunge feeding. Time was up, we motored back to Pier 3 in Sheepshead Bay.

A great trip out on the American Princess Cruises today, 4 whales (probably 7 with blows seen way off in the distance), many rays, a shark, and some turtles.

Click on the name to go to the Facebook pages for Gotham Whale and the American Princess Cruises. If you want to see this action live, with the NYC skyline as a backdrop, go here, scroll down to the bottom and book a trip on the American Princess Whale Watch, the first NYC Whale Watch. 

Pictures tell it all. 

Click on the name to follow the American Princess Cruises and Gotham Whale or go here and book your trip

Sea and air conditions: SW winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Wave detail: S 3 ft at 7 second, water temp 70 degrees, Sunny, low humidity and 82 degrees

Capt. Frank DeSantis at the helm, the AP Crew was Capt. Jack and Chris. Celia as Naturalist. Gotham Whale – Beth, Celia, and me.

Today was a very good day. We met up with a few feeding Dolphins that moved away quickly. But the dolphin brought us to the coolest sight to see, a giant school of roving Drum Fish. The school size was impressive, and the Drum Fish were BIG! The school was moving east to west, and we stayed to observe them for a few moments. We saw a blow and we went to check it out. When in motion Cow nose Rays were seen throughout the whole day. It’s a quick interaction with the Rays as they dive down rapidly, we saw many rays this day.

We saw the blow again and met up with first whale. The whale was subsurface feeding and staying down for a good time each time. The whale surfaced close to the back of the AP and put on a quick show with a powerful tail throw into some pectoral slaps. Then the whale went back to subsurface feeding. We saw another blow off in the distance, left this whale to feed on its own and we moved on. We met up with the next whale, but it was not one whale it was two. Wow, two whales swimming together. They did a few synchronized deep dives together as they were sub surface feeding together. Gotham Whale knows that this pair of humpbacks, the two whales have been seen in the area together for 6 days or so. We got lucky they are still hanging out together.

The bunker fish were starting to ball up on the surface and the lunge feeding started to happen – tandem lunge feeding! These whales went at it for a good amount of time, they gave us a great show. We were South and had to travel back to get in on time. In transit back we saw another humpback but did not stop. Almost back to the inlet we came across a very big pod of Dolphins, they were everywhere. And last but not least – we were almost in and saw that same school of Drum fish.

A very good day out on the water. 4 Humpbacks (two humpbacks tandem Lunge feeding), 150+ Dolphins, a giant school of Drum Fish, 100’s of Cownose Rays was seen.

Get out on the waters of the NY Bight and see this for yourself. Book a trip on the American Princess Cruises out of Sheepshead Bay you will not be disappointed. Check out Gotham Whales website and Gotham Whale Facebook page.        

Tip – when going on a boat and you “might” get seasick, please for your sake, plan ahead. Get Bonine or other seasickness treatments in your system to prevent nausea, vomiting and dizziness caused by motion sickness. Seasickness is preventable read here. Artie Raslich Photography | Seasickness is preventable.

We went out of Breezy and came upon a solo humpback. It looked to be subsurface feeding. I really like this whale! It has a very special way it dives down. It takes a series of breaths and on its big dive the whale uses its pectoral fins for an extra push down. It looks like the whale is doing the breaststroke throwing water onto the back of the whale, they really get into it and its funny. Seeing whales all the time, seeing stuff like this makes it interesting. It is a weird way to dive so all photos taken were looked at in detail. Maybe the whale has a problem with an entanglement or was hurt previously and has healed? Well in all the photos I shot, there is no ropes, or anything attached to the whale that I saw. The whale has a few scars but nothing that screams out massive ship strike (many variables here). Knowing that that most whales out there have been hit by boat/s to some degree and they have been entangled before. The whale went on doing its thing and we moved on to find another whale. The second whale was actively subsurface feeding, we watched him/her for a while grabbing a few fluke shots and we called it a day.

We did see about three Thresher shark breaches; one breach was spectacular. It is very hard, you need to be very lucky to get a photo of a thresher shark breaching, it is so unpredictable. Also, Cownose Rays are starting to be seen in the area.

As always Captain Tom Paladino from the American Princess got us on the action. Try to get out on the AP and see what is out there. Great day out on the water 2 Humpbacks, 3 Threshers, a few Cownose Rays were seen. 

The AP ran east out of Breezy; it was quiet at first. Someone screamed “3pm, two whales together”. We got a whale watch! These two whales went from not being seen to non-stop lunge and sub surface feeding. There was bait in the area, and everything was hitting the bait balls at the same time including Striped Bass, Blues and Sharks.

I captured a few amazing photos on this AP Whale watch.

One is a sequence of photos of one of these whale’s lunge feeding. The photos were taken far away from the lunge feeding. So, when cropped in, the photos are not tack sharp or of quality but document the event. A humpback whale lunge feeding on a Menhaden bait ball and throwing a Striped Bass Cow out of the water!

The other is a lunge feeding humpback with the JetBlue “NY JETS” painted aircraft called JetGreen coming in for a landing at JFK. "JetGreen" was put in service in 2010 and is the first sports themed aircraft to join JetBlue's growing fleet. GO NY JETS! Hahaha...

The rest of the photos from the trip.

We had a great day out on the American Princess whale watch. Capt. Frank along with the crew; Thomas, Jack, Mitch, and Chris along with Celia as naturalist made sure everyone was happy and saw whales. As always, a job well done by the crew. Get out on the AP and see this stuff for yourself! Sightings today – Two humpback Whales.

NYC0323 was a young female humpback whale that Gotham Whale first catalogued in July 2023. She was documented 11 times since then, and every single one of our whale watching contributors had seen her at some point this year. The last time that NYC0323 was seen alive was when she was feeding inside Sandy Hook Channel, a mere 48 hours prior to being found floating off Rockaway. The loss of any humpback whale is devastating, but the loss of a whale that we have seen alive and feeding so many times is heartbreaking. Please help us to advocate for stronger protections for humpback whales against ship strikes in New York and New Jersey.

In these photos the AMSEAS team, directed by NOAA fisheries are doing a necropsy on this Juvenile Femail Humpback Whale that washed up on Beach 9^th in Far Rockaway. This is a horrible job to perform; it is very hot on the beach, smelly, messy, physically challenging and it is a thankless job! So thank you AMSEAS!!
AMSEA's just released the preliminary Necropsy findings: Preliminary necropsy findings for the subadult 33-foot long female revealed extensive bruising to the right side of the body consistent with suspect vessel strike. There was distinctive scarring noted around the animal’s peduncle consistent with a previous entanglement, although this was not thought to be related to this stranding event. The animal was found to be in robust body condition with evidence of recent feeding.

It is hard to watch all these Humpback Whales washing up dead on NY/NJ beaches. There are reasons why this is happening, I don’t know the exact causes. People are on the fence with the subject. Politicians are taking sides. Big Oil’s views it one-way, clean energy is taking another stance. What I do know it is 100% our fault these whales are dying. As always, it is us to blame. I’m sure, in the end, the whales’ deaths have to do with someone making money and the whales are paying with their lives.
 

Conditions were very good. 80 degrees, partly cloudy with 2-4ft waves with 10knt winds. Halfway through the trip the winds dropped down, so did the seas and the clouds clear up. Great conditions, especially for Montauk.

The sightings started off before we left the dock in Lake Montauk. There were a few Grey Seals floating around right behind the Viking. Very cool to see the grey seals especially in the month of July. The Viking pushed off at 2pm and went past the Montauk light house and went looking for whales, any kind of whale. Out in Montauk they can see Finbacks and Humpbacks along with Inshore and offshore dolphins. We came upon a small pod of inshore bottlenose dolphins with a few whales in the mix off the Point. The Dolphins and the humpbacks were subsurface feeding together. The bait was down around the 25ft mark, and the depth was in the 80ft range. The crazy part with the dolphins was as we watched the dolphins feed, they grew in numbers. It went from like 40 dolphins to like 250-300 dolphins in all directions. We stayed for a bit and saw some other blows off in the distance and went to investigate. We met up with a mother and Calf. The size difference of their bodies was drastic, that baby whale was so small compared to its mom. You can see the mom was teaching the calf how to feed and to eventually survive on its own. They were doing synchronized swimming and diving, it was cute. We moved on but not too far away and came upon a very big congregation of large humpbacks. First it was 6 whales, that grew to 9 and we lost count at like 14 humpback whales. They were all around the boat, spouts everywhere you looked.

Very big whales out in Montauk! They are adult whales with some known whales documented by CRESLI to be 38 years old to 42+ years old. Compared to the Western NY Bight whales which are mostly juvenile and young adult with very few adult whales. But as time goes by, the western Bight will probably see more adults (as the juveniles get older).

Our time was up, we left the whales and went back to the dock. Had a great day out on the Viking with CRESLI and Artie K. Marine Mammal count - 14 plus Humpbacks, 250-300 Dolphins and a few Grey Seals. If you get a chance to do a day trip to Montauk to go out on the Viking with CRESLI, they go out on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Great day out on the American Princess this past Sunday, July 02. Sea conditions; ESE winds 10 to 15 kts. Seas 2 to 4 ft SE swell at 7 seconds. Water is warm 67-72 degrees. Captain Tom and the crew did a great job locating 3 humpbacks and 40ish dolphins.

We headed out of Breezy Point and quickly we were on a small pod of very playful dolphins. They were splashing, jumping, and chasing each other all over the area. Some actions looked like play, some not, but it was a show none the less.

We headed south and met up with an active feeding humpback whale. We saw many good lunge feedings, a tail throw, a few flukes, and lots of close passes. Two other whales were in the area, but we stayed with the active one.

The photos tell the story…check them out.

Conditions were good. The waves were 1ft-3ft.  The winds were light and variable with no chop but some texture on the water. Temps in the mid 70’s. A little chill in the air with the water temp around 57-61 degrees.

We headed out of Breezy and as soon as we turned the corner from Lower New York Bay and Breezy jetty into the Atlantic Ocean...IT WAS ON! Dolphins were the show. They were in the shallow waters but past the break. They were all around with a few calves in the mix. We traveled with them for a bit hugging the shore when we saw a blow like 3000 yards away.

We headed towards the blow and it segwayed into three-whales. The Bunker bait fish was everywhere. In dark patches, on the surface and snapping away. We caught up with the humpbacks, the whales were separated by about 500 feet, each doing their own thing. In the beginning it was mostly sub surface feeding, why waste energy when you don’t have to. Then BAM…they let loose. Hitting the bunker schools from below with some awesome lunge feedings. They whales got closer and closer to each other and then were basically feeding together. Some lunge feeding others sub surface feeding. But, at times the whales were bubble net feeding. It is something we don’t really see too often. I am guessing because it’s not too deep here. When the bait fish are on the surface, snapping away they are so dense, bubble net feeding is not needed. But what do I know?

At times the whales were literally on top of each other very close to the boat and then branched off with one going deep, and two staying closer to the shore. One of the whales started giving us a show, while the other kept on feeding. The big show started off with a few very impressive breaches, into twisting back breaches followed by chin slaps and pectoral fin slaps. Twisting and turning its body, this whale did not get exhausted. It just kept going into non-stop tail slaps, first it was right side up and then upside down. Throwing in some very powerful tail throws. It was an impressive show! We would have stayed and watched this whale for hours, but we had to head back to the dock. As we drove away it kept on splashing about. WOW what an epic day whale watching with three very active Humpbacks and 100 dolphins seen.

If you want to see Whales and Dolphins in this area, I recommend the American Princess Cruises with Gotham Whale. If you are in Montauk on a Sunday or a Wednesday check out the Viking Fleet with CRESLI.

We arrived at the base of Lady Liberty. A few boats were in position ready for the sendoff and others were in transit. Vessels in attendance: American Princess Cruises, NYPD Harbor Patrol, FDNY Boat, NY Media Boats, Bayonne Golf Club Boat, Statue City Cruises Miss Freedom and Miss New Jersey, NY Water Taxi Marian Heiskell and another, NY Ferry Signs To Liberty and another, Tow Boat U.S. Jacob Miller, The Staten Island Ferry and a few private boats.

The AP had setup a PA system and Capt. Tom Paladino presented a memorial, here are his words.

“Good morning!

I would like to thank you all for coming today to honor a legendary captain, a great man and my dear friend Captain Marty Haines. I had the pleasure of knowing Captain Marty for over 50 years. Our fathers were both stationed in the Pacific during World War II When the war ended, they both returned home, bought boats and started a fishing business. Marty’s dad in Perth Amboy, NJ and mine in Gerritsen Beach Brooklyn. Marty and I both grew up on the boat and got our captain’s license in the 60’s. We spoke on the CB radio everyday and formed a friendship that lasted until his passing on August 7, 2022. Through hard work and dedication Marty grew to be one of finest fisherman on the coast. He was respected and admired by everyone in the industry. Marty worked year-round to keep his boats impeccable. To put it simply, Boats were Marty’s life. Around the year 2000, he sold his boat and started the next chapter in his career working as a captain for New York Water Taxi. Marty’s incredible work ethic earned him number 1 captain at NYWT in no time at all. If any of the boats needed to be painted Marty was their man. He would assemble a team and get the job done. Perfectly and on time. 

One memory that stands out, is a great story that I would like to share with you today, Marty was known around Water taxi for putting in long hours of hard work. One day, a great guy named Sequan Bush who we lost to covid much too early. signed up to work with Marty to pain the Seymour Durst. Sequan told me that he went to bed early the night before so that he could keep up with Marty. They arrived at the shipyard on a cold morning at around 6:00 am and began painting. He and Sequan worked all day until the sun went down. Just as it got dark and it was difficult to see, Marty put down his paintbrush and walked towards his car. Sequan was cold and tired but so proud of himself that he actually kept up with the legend Captain Marty a man more than twice his age. But then he watched as Marty got in his car, started the engine, drove toward the boat and put the headlights on so he could see. Marty got out of the car, turned to Sequan and said, “Mix another batch of Paint”. Saquan later told me in a way that only he could, “Captain Tom, I cried like a baby”.

Marty also worked on this boat the American Princess, painting it from bow to stern, doing the job with precision and pride, every year. Marty was a complete gentleman in every sense of the word, he was mild mannered never used profanity or uttered a bad word about anyone. He was just an all-around great guy. Marty was always there for everyone and will be greatly missed by all Mariners from Bar Harbor, Maine to Key West Florida. Farewell my good friend, May calm seas, fair winds and a following sea be with you for all eternity. Rest in Peace Captain Marty”

After Capt. Tom’s memorial speech, the wreaths for Capt. Marty were thrown in along with one of Capt. Marty’s Paint Brushes. Then the quiet bay went loud, very loud! All the boats stood on their air horns…very nice farewell goodbye.

Fare thee well Captain Marty Haines you are missed.

Video with Capt Tom's Speech here. 

We spotted the Humpback whale very quickly today, it wasn’t hard. The whale breached and we saw its bright white 30-40 foot splash a mile or two away. When we met up with the whale, the whale was actively feeding hitting the Menhaden Bait Balls scattered on the ocean’s surface. It did some really good lunge feedings - mouth open with Menhaden flying all about...Love that stuff! In-between the lunge feedings the whale did a solo tail throw and two big Breaches.

The 2022 American Princess’ (AP) Whale Watching & Dolphin Adventure season has been amazing so far, time to get out and see what we see. Click on the link to book. 
 

You have to get out on the American Princess for a whale watch! The Humpback Whale action is amazing right now! The AP docks at Pier 3 – Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Directly across the street from Applebee’s on Emmons Ave. Address is 2498 Emmons Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235. Get out and see what we see.

The sea conditions were very good with light winds around 5 kts, seas around 2 ft, no chop. Bright sunshine, cloud cover 0%, 83 degrees with low humidity, just a perfect day for a whale watch.

We headed out of lower NY Bay past Breezy Point Inlet and came upon a pod of Dolphins. They were feeding on small Bunker bait balls. We usually don’t get to see the Dolphins ripping through the bait balls. I mean – we could actually see the dolphins corralling the Menhaden deep in the water, then running at and through the Bait balls feeding. That was cool.

The dolphins once again brought us to the humpbacks today. The whales and dolphins were in the same area and the whales were feeding also. We came upon the first whale, then there were two, then four. We motored past a lazy whale to meetup with the active whale and it gave us a show. This whale was not shy! He or she liked to get close and had no preference to the front or the back, this whale was everywhere and unpredictable. As always, the AP adheres to Whale watching protocols, the whales and the passengers are always safe. The whale was lunge feeding as we approached but stopped and went into a Pectoral slap session with a few twists and turns. It was nice to see the whale up close and some of those pectoral slaps were very loud.

The whale did many big blows or spouts, it looks like rain on the water’s surface. It also creates a very fine mist and this mist drifts down wind or the boat can drive through the blow. “Sometimes” when a whale takes a breath of air (blow or spout) its exhaled breath can be unbelievably stinky! The smell – think of a covered bucket with Bunker fish in it that sat in the sun, decomposing for a week. Now open that bucket and give it a whiff…THAT’S THE SMELL of whale’s breath. I have been out on my boat and found whales on their breath alone…truth! Good news for us today, the whales blow, or whales’ breath didn’t smell at all. A small kid next to me says “why did I just get rained on?” I said” That’s the whales’ breath, its it blow”. I thought to myself "Man, if that whales breath was bad and I told the kid what it was that was misting on him, he would have freaked Haha"

Whales are in NYC waters get out on the AP and see what I see! 

We charged out of Breezy Point and traversed the ocean until we came upon a small pod of Dolphins which lead us to a very big pod of dolphins, 250+ estimated. The Dolphins were feeding and playing, nothing spectacular but still nice to see. A small group of Dolphins were getting rowdy, calves and moms in the mix causing a commotion splashing and playing. The reason why, they were interacting with a whale we knew was in the area but could not find. The whale we meetup with is known as #NYC0086 in the New York City Humpback Whale Catalog curated by Gotham Whale. I am almost positive our first interaction with #NYC0086 was on July 29^th, 2018.

#NYC0086 was somewhat elusive staying down between blows for 10+ minutes every surface. 86 is a big whale, its footprints on the surface were impressive, somewhat giving away its location and travel line. They Bunker were snapping on the surface all around, but the schools were not thick and deep. Looking at the finder, there was no bunker schools on the bottom. Knowing that, I don’t think NYC0086 was subsurface feeding for the 10 minutes+ dives. I think the whale just ate and was digesting or napping or just taking a break.

All on board got a great day out on the AP with 1 whale #NYC0086 and 250+ Dolphins seen.

You have to get out on the American Princess to see this action for yourself. It is amazing! They have been doing whale watches since the start of the whale’s returning to NYC. The AP pushes off in Brooklyn now, Sheepshead Bay. Get on the AP and see what’s out there.  

When we were on NYC0089 we were very close to the Breezy Point Jetty, so it would be a short trip for NYC0089 to get to Lower NY Bay or Harbor, then to Upper NY Bay or Harbor and onwards and upwards to the Hudson River or the North River.

There is so much bait inside the back bays and harbors right now. We assume that's true for the Hudson River as well but do not 100% know that is a fact. From the many reports I have read the whale is feeding and looking healthy. It is relatively safe for the whale to be there; the water is very deep. Boat traffic is the biggest problem for this whale. Ship strikes are one of the major causes for fatalities and injuries for Marine Mammals including the Humpback Whale, so this could be a problem. Marine traffic and seasoned captains know there is a whale in the area, everyone on the water is in the know. There are many eyes on the lookout for this whale, so it should be OK.

We saw NYC0089 before, on June 02, 2018 on the American Princess Cruises Whale Watch. It was healthy and with other whales and dolphins that day. Here is the recap – Artie Raslich Photography | 2018-06-02 5 Humpbacks and 50+ Dolphins off Rockaway . I think I have seen this whale a few other times but cannot confirm. Sometimes you get photos of whales, and because of distance or angles in photos you cannot ID them… hey, it happens.

Well, I hope NYC0089 has fun in the big city seeing the sights. And then gets the hell out of there before Mayor De Blasio slaps him with restrictions or makes him quarantine!

Good luck NYC0089, see you soon!

We (Gotham Whale and the American Princess) came across our second entangled whale in a week! The American Princess Cruises all day Seafari was coming to an end when we saw this Humpback Whale roughly a mile off Fort Tilden, Rockaway Beach, NY. There were two other whales in the area and many dolphins all around swimming with these whales.

We came across the entangled humpback, and it immediately did a breach. The whale was swimming and breathing normally. It did not look, sound or act stressed, even though a breach could be a sign of anything good or bad, including stress. The whale then fluked a few times and revealed the entanglement: fishing gear wrapped around its fluke. At that point (3:22pm), the AP stopped and immediately all agencies needing to be contacted were contacted by Captain Frank via phone and radio. All information needed was shared and Capt. Frank did an incredible job as he and Capt. Tom always do!

Once again, in a small way, the AP with GW is helping humpbacks in the Western NY Bight!  I will say this, and it’s my opinion, but I think you will agree: “If it were not for Gotham Whale and American Princess Cruises being out on the water practicing Citizen Science on a constant basis many whales that pass through NYC waters entangled or injured would probably go undetected.” When you hear or read NYC and Humpback Whale, it usually is followed by Gotham Whale and American Princess Cruises in the same sentence!

Gotham Whale was created in 2009 and holds the only NYC Humpback Whale Catalog. The NYCHWC has broken the 200 whales documented mark this year. The details of each of the whales in this catalog help scientists (and citizen scientists) in the whale world tremendously.

About Gotham Whale – it is 100% a volunteer-based citizen scientist 503c1 non-profit entity and is funded by donations. If you want to help the whales in NYC – Donate to GW here HELP GOTHAM WHALE HELP NYC WHALES. You can buy Gotham Whale gear and that helps us as well.

As soon as the NARW identification was made, we backed away immediately and left the NARW. NOAA regulations say you need to stay 500 meters away and we did. On exiting, THE CALLS WENT OUT on seeing a NARW! ALL protocols were followed when seeing a NARW. The government agencies were informed: NOAA, USCG, and others. Captains Frank and Tom called Vessel Traffic about the NARW being in the area. All ships in the area were hailed and informed to slow down, including another whale watching boat.

The conditions were a little rocky, especially when in the trough. Looking at photos for details in these conditions is limited. I get home, upload the photos, and start the processing. I notice a rope embedded in the rostrum of the NARW. It looks like the rope is wrapped twice around the top of the mouth and is not wrapped around the whole mouth (my opinion, I am not a NARW expert). I think this whale can filter feed, but I did not get photos of the whole head of the NARW. Photos show the rope being covered by the lower jaw and, this to me, would point to it being able to open its lower jaw to eat. But again, I am NOT an expert. The rope looks to have been there for a while because it's embedded in the top of the head and callosities have totally covered it up except on the sides.

As soon as I saw the rope, I processed the photos and sent them out to all agencies that needed them for IDing, including CCS and MMSC.

I waited a few days before posting the information and when NOAA sent out their bulletin, I waited another day to post my info and photos!

Here is what I know and was told: This NARW has not been matched and is not known to be involved in any ongoing entanglement case. Based on its emaciation and extreme injuries-- look at the giant healing impact bruise or cut on its left side-- this whale is in very bad shape. Look at the entanglement scars, the rope, and injuries-- it likely does not have much longer. It is not likely to be feeding, so it will probably wander and may show up just about anywhere.

We wish this NA Right Whale well; we might see it in the area next week? If we do, we will stay 1500 feet away and call all who need to know that it's still in the area.

A big thank you to the Captains and Crew of American Princess Cruises; a great Seafari adventure was had by all! Try to make it out on the next Seafari on Oct 1^st.

Conditions were great on this day! Light winds, 1-2ft waves with a glassy sheen on the surface (no chop), bright sunshine, clear water, no humidity. These conditions are perfect for seeing “into” the water close to the boat. When it's choppy, it’s hard to clearly see (and photograph) what is in the water.

The whale watch started off fast with a small pod of dolphins; they were playing. When they saw the AP they beelined it over to us and started riding the wake. This is always a great sight, one of my favorite sights with dolphins. They played in the wake as we moved on looking for humpbacks. When in transit, on a day like this I am always looking down into the water. So many Cownose Rays (maybe Bullnose Rays…I DON’T KNOW!) were in the area! I saw a few cownose rays breaching- that was nice and unexpected.

Looking out on the horizon we saw a few blows and then we were on a pair of humpbacks; the whale watch was on. We stayed with the whales for a while, but they were in transit mode. They did a tandem lunge feeding but mostly they were moving. We saw a few more blows and went to see the other whale that just came into view. We met up with the whale, which was also in transit; not feeding, just taking breaths and fluking. BTW - The breath of the whales we met up with was disgusting…DISGUSTING! With the light winds on the water, their blow or “breath” carries on the wind. If you're down wind, the cloud of whale breath hits you right in your face and it’s an experience. What does whale breath smell like? ROTTEN FISH! Think 5-day old bunker sitting in a bucket outside in the sun and times that by 10.

While this was all going on, I still had my eyes out for sharks and other things, and you never know what you will see. I am following the humpback, camera ready. I look to the shore (Jersey shore, we were off Jersey) and see something do a violent breach. It was amazing! At first, I thought it was a great white breaching- it was a very big fish. There was only one breach and it happened so fast, I was camera ready and took my shots, but I did not know if I got the shot. I was so busy going nuts, yelling, and screaming over what I just saw, it was crazy! So excited I got to see something like that with others.

I look at the series of photos, not a Great White. I see a crescent shaped tail and think Yellowfin Tuna. I look at the next photo, it looks like a Bluefin Tuna. I go to the next one and I see the whole fish. It is a Giant Blue Fin Tuna doing a FULL BREACH. 100% all of the tuna was out of the water! WOW, I just saw that, and it was a mile or two off the beach! The second-best photo I have ever taken!

This day was incredible! I can not wait to go out on the American Princess all-day whale watch coming up on Sept 17^th and Oct 1^st. These trips are where I thought I would see something like this happen, who knew it would be a mile or so off the coast. WHAT A DAY!

Dolphins and whales have been seen in East Rockaway channel before. The whale named "Reynolds" for Reynolds Channel by Gotham Whale, was in the western back bays of Nassau County for about ten days a few years ago. Good news on the whale, it got out. Dolphins have been in the back bays many times before; it's not uncommon. The dolphin was first reported in the area on July 21^st and is still in that area on Aug 01^st.

This dolphin is in a very different situation than Reynolds the whale was. Right now (Aug 01, 3pm) the dolphin is in Mill River, not East Rockaway Channel. Mill River is brackish water, meaning the dolphin is swimming in water having more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. Dolphins that are not considered freshwater dolphins may visit or travel through freshwater environments, but they ultimately return back to their saltwater habitat. In this case, to get out to the ocean this dolphin needs to go out one of the two nearest inlets, which are East Rockaway Inlet and Jones Inlet. All the fish (food) dolphins normally eat are in that river and in abundance, so it will not go hungry. The dolphin is not being held down or entangled; it is freely breathing. The water is deep, so it should not get stranded. It looks to be in good health, but I am not a dolphin expert. With all the good mentioned there are a few bad things that make the odds of getting out to the ocean go down: bridges and stress.

Stress – Not good! Not being able to get back to the ocean, that is stressful on its own. Seeing groups of people in kayaks surrounding the dolphin just feet away is not good and is compounding the stress factor for this dolphin. The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act do not allow unauthorized people to get within 150 feet or 50 yards to view or interact with a wild dolphin. Feeding a dolphin, which was happening when the dolphin was in the East Rockaway boat basin, is illegal. Violations can be prosecuted either civilly or criminally and are punishable by fines of up to $100,000 and/or up to 1 year in jail. YEAH, read that again, these guys are serious about this.

Bridges – There are two bridges the Dolphin must navigate to get to the ER Channel. The LIRR train trestle, then the Atlantic Ave Bridge. The first, the LIRR Trestle, is a very shallow passage for the dolphin. There are rocks placed under the trestle to limit the amount of brackish water that gets out at low tide. The Atlantic Ave Bridge can be navigated by the dolphin at almost any tide.

My opinion, and take it with a grain of salt:
Here’s what needs to happen for this dolphin to reach the ocean. People need to leave it alone. The dolphin needs to get out of the river at a mid to high tide, the more water the better. This week we will have a full moon and heavy rain. The water (rain and tide) at outgoing tide will be rushing the river water out of Mill River to the East Rockaway Channel very fast. This is the time for the dolphin to get out of that river. If this dolphin can not make it out on its own this week coming up, a rescue of some type will have to happen. If a rescue won't/can't be performed and the dolphin can't get out, that dolphin will be there for a very long time. If all else fails, the unfortunate reality is, and it is tough to hear, this dolphin could be euthanized. 

FYI - If you see a dolphin or turtle in distress call NY Marine Rescue Center (NYMRC). The NYMRC has been on site, every day, since day one. They are there to educate people about what is going on and to help keep the public and the dolphin safe. At this point (8/03 3pm) the NYMRC is not performing a rescue or are planning a rescue, but this can change at any moment. NYMRC knows people are passionate about wild animals and dolphins and whales are on top of that list. Please respect what these NYMRC workers are doing, because they know what they are doing! What NYMRC workers do not need is people going off on them demanding "whatever" to be done so the dolphin can get out. Now these people going off are passionate, dolphin loving people with the best intentions for the dolphin. But the NYMRC knows best- let them do their job!

Again, all this is my opinion, agree or disagree but now ya know what I think, and let us hope the dolphin gets out!

Read up on the rescue attempts for Reynolds the whale here:

Reynolds the Humpback Whale situation.

Reynolds Channel Whale Event/Incident Action Plan

"Operation Reynolds" Trying to help save Reynolds the Humpback In Reynolds Channel

UPDATED PHOTOS----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HHere is the outcome for the Dolphin! Very Sad!!!