A significant ecological milestone has been reached in the waters off New York. Non-profit conservation organization “Gotham Whale” has announced that their research team has identified and documented 500 humpback whales, indicating that humpback whales have once again become an important species in the waters surrounding New York Harbor in recent years. However, researchers caution that as the humpback whale population increases, the overlap with busy shipping lanes is becoming more common, with ship strikes becoming one of the main threats to their survival.
Chris St. Lawrence, a spokesperson for Gotham Whale, stated that the water quality along the coasts of New York and New Jersey has been steadily improving in recent years, coupled with fisheries management policies leading to the gradual recovery of fish stocks, making the local waters a new feeding ground for humpback whales. On the other hand, climate change has caused sea temperatures to rise and altered the distribution of prey in traditional feeding areas such as New England and Canada, prompting more humpback whales to migrate south in search of new food sources.
St. Lawrence pointed out that nowadays many humpback whales stay near New York for several weeks or even months, feeding heavily in the summer to build up fat before migrating south for the winter. This is a notable change from the past when fin whales and North Atlantic right whales were more commonly seen in the coastal waters near New York, with humpback whales being relatively scarce.
Since 2012, Gotham Whale has been compiling the “NYC Humpback Whale Catalog,” collaborating with whale-watching operators and volunteers in locations such as Staten Island, Belmar in New Jersey, and Freeport on Long Island to collect photos and identify individual humpback whales based on the black-and-white patterns on the underside of their tail flukes. St. Lawrence emphasized that the patterns on the tail flukes of each humpback whale are as unique as human fingerprints, making them important for long-term tracking of their movements and migration routes.
When the project first started, only 10 to 30 new humpback whales were being identified each year, but now the number has increased to approximately 80 to 100 annually. St. Lawrence believes that the increase in records not only reflects the growth in the humpback whale population but also correlates with the growing popularity of whale-watching activities in recent years and an increased willingness among the public to report sightings.
However, the return of humpback whales to the waters off New York also presents new conservation challenges. The Port of NYNJ is one of the busiest ports in the United States, with a large number of cargo ships, ferries, and commercial vessels navigating its waters, making ship strikes one of the primary causes of death for humpback whales. Many individuals bear scars from propeller strikes, with some even perishing as a result.
The federal government declared an “unusual mortality event” for humpback whales along the Atlantic coast in 2016. As of now, a total of 266 humpback whales have died, with approximately half undergoing necropsies; of the confirmed causes of death, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the leading reasons.
A joint study by Stony Brook University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2024 revealed that the unusual mortality events among humpback whales along the Atlantic coast are primarily linked to ship strikes. Additionally, an increasing number of juvenile whales lacking navigational experience entering coastal waters in recent years have further heightened the risk of accidents.
St. Lawrence stated that the purpose of establishing a humpback whale database is not only to record numbers but also to understand their activity patterns in the waters surrounding New York, serving as crucial scientific basis for future navigation management and conservation policies to reduce the risk of ship strikes. This will help ensure that these humpback whales returning to the waters off New York can continue to utilize this gradually recovering maritime environment.