Four Ways to Watch Whales in Newfoundland and Labrador

Every year, 22 species of whales and dolphins come to Newfoundland and Labrador for the seafood banquet and to gaze quizzically at the little creatures in floating vessels that are so happy to see them. You can see Beluga, Narwhal, Sperm Whale, Pygmy Sperm Whale, Blue Whale, Fin Whale, Sei Whale, Minke Whale, Humpback Whale, Bowhead Whale, Right Whale, Killer Whale, Northern Bottle-Nosed Whale, Sowerby’s Beaked Whale, Blainville’s Beaked Whale, and even True’s Beaked Whale.

How close you want to get to whales depends on your sea legs and your courage. If you go green around the gills just thinking of getting on a tour boat, you’re a confirmed hangashore and should venture no further than the end of the wharf. Photo Courtesy Rendez-vous Canada

 

The most common are the Humpback, Minke and Fin, with Beluga and Killer the next most seen. Some are very rare, such as Sowerby’s beaked Whale.

How close you want to get to whales depends on your sea legs and your courage. If you go green around the gills just thinking of getting on a tour boat, you’re a confirmed hangashore and should venture no further than the end of the wharf. Come to think of it, a lovely seaside meadow or a lighthouse might be better.

The humpbacks begin to arrive in late spring when fish begin moving toward the coast, following the capelin, a small fish that comes to shore in the billions to lay eggs in shallow waters. Photo Courtesy Rendez-vous Canada

 

The tour boat is the next level up the scale of adventure. You and anywhere from a dozen to 50 or more boat trippers set sail in search of whale. Usually you’ll find some because the boat tour operators are experienced hands who have years, even decades, of experience following the whales and know their movements pretty well. If there are hundreds of seabirds gathering in a spot, it’s a good bet there are fish about, and where there are fish and birds, there are often whales. If a boat tour is a little too tame, hop a sea kayak with a local operator and you could find yourself in the midst of a pod of feeding humpbacks, gliding effortless through the water, herding fish and chowing down on capelin, sand lance and other fishy delicacies. Don’t try this on your own, folks. You have to know the tides and currents to stay safe.

Then there’s the mother of all whale adventures: snorkeling with whales. This is where you don a dry suit, pop over the side and float away from the boat, and wait. Thirty tonnes of humpback swimming toward you at top speed is guaranteed to get your attention. But fear not: you’re too big to be strained through the whale’s baleens. Don’t try this with toothed whales.

Whatever you choose, you won’t be disappointed. This is truly the best place in North America to appreciate whales.

There’s a very good reason why whales come here: food. The Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current meet and mix over the Grand Banks, a huge continental shelf off Newfoundland that was discovered in the late 15th century when an early explorer, John Cabot, scooped up cod fish in a basket. The food also attracts millions of seabirds, and the Labrador Current carries icebergs south into Newfoundland waters in late spring and early summer. Sometimes you can see whales, bergs and birds at the same time! 

The humpbacks begin to arrive in late spring when fish begin moving toward the coast, following the capelin, a small fish that comes to shore in the billions to lay eggs in shallow waters. Typically, both capelin and whales are first spotted in southeastern Newfoundland in June in places like Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve. As the season progresses the capelin move further north into warming waters up the northeast coast of Newfoundland, followed by the whales that stop to feed at Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, a major seabird breeding area, then Trinity Bay, Notre Dame Bay in the Twillingate area, and finally, in August and September, they are seen off northern Newfoundland around St. Anthony.

For more information visit: newfoundlandlabrador.com

 

 

 

 

Category: TRAVEL