A new scientific paper discusses the first NOAA Fisheries record of a bowhead whale in Southeast Alaska. It is only the second documented sighting of this Arctic species in the eastern North Pacific, south of the Aleutian Islands. The whale was observed by a team of scientists working in Sitka Sound in March 2024.
“This sighting is important because it is a first for a pretty big region,” said Ellen Chenoweth, lead author on the study from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “This is the first documented sighting of a bowhead whale in Southeast Alaska. It’s not the furthest south they have been seen, but it’s very notable because of how far it is from its typical range. It raises a lot of questions about what was going on with this animal that we can’t answer.”
Rare Sighting on a Survey
The crew were using a 25-foot motorboat in Sitka Sound to photograph and identify humpback whales that had been observed bubble-net feeding in the area. Humpback whales are often present in large numbers in Sitka Sound in March, feeding on pre-spawn herring.
They also spotted gray whales, likely feeding on herring eggs near shore. After identifying several humpback whales in smaller groups, the crew was heading back to Sitka when they spotted another whale.
The vessel slowed to photograph this whale, but it didn’t appear to be a humpback. The whale was small, visible only by its head and jaw, which had a distinct arch. The crew took two photos before the whale submerged.
Read more at fisheries.noaa.gov.
