Helping Hands for Humpback Whales

The U.S. and Bermuda governments have agreed to help the humpback whale as it migrates through ocean expanses controlled by different governments.

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Photo By: NOAA

The endangered North Atlantic humpback whale is getting some new help from Bermuda and the U.S., which recently agreed to collaborate on new scientific and educational programs at the 842-square-mile Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, which sits between Cape Ann and Cape Cod off the coast of Massachusetts.

Managed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the marine sanctuary is used by whales during their annual Gulf of Maine-to-Caribbean Sea migration, which takes them from feeding grounds in the north, to calving and breeding grounds in the south. As far as humpback whales are concerned, Bermuda and the Dominican Republic both have similarly important territorial waters.

"Humpback whales are international citizens without passports who recognize no political jurisdictions," said Craig MacDonald, Stellwagen Bank’s superintendent. "We share whales with other nations that border their migratory route, just as we share the responsibility for protecting these fascinating animals."

Residents of and visitors to these areas can also help by participating in citizen science programs designed to help scientists track whale populations. Essentially, you have to do is send photos of whale tails seen on the water.