In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of whales off New York harbor. In 2011, researchers from Cornell recorded the sounds of fin whale, blue whale, humpback whale, minke whale, sei whale, and the North Atlantic right whale using an array of hydrophones off Long Island and New York harbor. The downside of increased whale activity is that the harbor has also seen an increase in the number of whales struck and killed by ships. Earlier this spring, we saw two dead whales carried into the harbor on the bows of ships in less than a month. On the positive side New Yorkers are able to watch humpbacks feeding just a mile of New York City beaches.

Local Whale Watching