(Montreal) Several experts note that the number of whales observed this summer on both sides of the St. Lawrence River is low, although the observation season is not over. These specialists also seem to agree that the behavior of whales has changed, reveals an article published on the website of the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM).
Posted at 10:08 p.m.
The head of the census of large rorquals within the GREMM, Tim Perrero, notes this. He maintains that the stays of the whales in the estuary are “extremely short” compared to their habits. He specifies that several individuals who follow this place only stayed a week, or even a few days only.
This is the case of a humpback whale named Tic Tac Toe which has made several short visits to the area this season, whereas it usually makes long stays.
In addition, fin whales normally loyal to the estuary have not yet been sighted. Mr. Perrero mentions four identified whales that usually spend up to half the season in the vicinity.
An ecologist at Parks Canada, Samuel Turgeon, notes the same thing. His data on the monitoring of whale watching activities in the marine park suggest that these mammals stay less long in the sector and explore more.
The Mingan Islands Research Station (MICS) has noticed for several years a decrease in the number of large rorquals frequenting the Jacques-Cartier Strait.
It’s a completely different situation for the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, where the number of humpback and fin whales has exceeded seasonal averages since 2018.
Even if the number of whales seems lower in the estuary, it is not particularly low this season compared to the early 2010s, raises Véronique Lesage, biologist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. So far, seven fin whales have been identified in the estuary, a number that resembles the totals recorded between 2014 and 2017. The number of humpback whales – 37 sightings – surpasses even previous years, with the exception of 2021 .
In the Gaspésie region, about twenty humpback whales and a few fin whales were seen at the start of the season, but since then their appearances have become rare. The GREMM maintains, however, that it is normal to see fewer whales in July than in June in this sector.
It is however unusual that there is a complete absence of blue whales and few fin whales.
The presence of whales has varied over the past few years, which makes it difficult to discern the causes of these changes in habits. Experts are looking into the hypothesis of variations in the abundance of prey since whales visit the St. Lawrence River mainly to feed.
In the marine park, for example, the Parks Canada team carries out surveys to detect the presence of prey. Preliminary data shows that there are very few sand eels, a fish that whales feed on, unlike in previous years when such counts were run.
Disturbances in the ecosystem, including the warming of the water and the reduction of the ice cover, could be at the origin of the changes in the quantity of prey present in these waters.