November 18, 2014 — New York City’s urban waterways are again becoming home to some residents who haven’t been seen for hundreds of years: Humpback whales. A common presence in pre-colonial times, humpbacks vanished from New York’s waters as their numbers plummeted globally.
But there are signs of a resurgence. In the busy New York Bay, where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean, whale spotters have recorded twice as many whales this summer as last summer, and almost 20 times as many as in 2011. Researchers say that a cleaner bay and a growing population of fish for whales to feed on are responsible for the trend.
Rise in Sightings
Four years ago, humpback whale sightings in the NYC bay area would have been rare, says Paul Sieswerda, a naturalist and founder of Gotham Whale, a nonprofit dedicated to studying whales in NYC. After spending nearly four decades working at the New England and New York Aquariums, Sieswerda retired to start Gotham Whale in 2006.
In 2011 Sieswerda began to notice the increased prevalence of humpback whales in the bay. He decided to start partnering with American Princess Cruises to study whale numbers using a citizen science approach. Everyday people joined experienced naturalists on cruises to collect data. Every summer since, Gotham Whale has sponsored thrice-weekly whale-counting trips through the bay and a few miles out into the ocean.
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