Tag: Atlantic Ocean

Insight Into Important (Bio)Indicators: Ospreys

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Mid-summer marks the nestling period of nesting ospreys, a coastal raptor, whose diet consists mainly of fish. As a state that’s heavily influenced by its location along the Atlantic Ocean, they play a critical role in our coastal ecosystem. Ospreys are important bioindicators of the health of our coastal waters, through the lens of their prey, where pollutants are biomagnified through the food chain. As we consume many of the same fish, they show the effects of these pollutants long before humans, so the health of their population has implications for our coastal waters and us! Continue reading “2018 Osprey Outlook”

By: Lindsay McNamara, Communications Coordinator

Humpback Whales were spotted 87 times from whale-watching boats near New York City this year, and by cataloging the whales’ markings, at least 19 different humpbacks have been identified in the waters off the city. Naturalists aboard whale-watching boats have seen humpbacks in the Atlantic Ocean within a mile of the Rockaway peninsula, part of New York’s borough of Queens, within sight of Manhattan’s skyscrapers.

In 2012, there were 15 sightings; in 2013, 33; and this year there were 87 sightings totaling 106 humpbacks.

It’s not crystal clear why humpbacks, which can be 50 feet long and weigh 40 tons, are returning to New York’s shores, where they were abundant before they and other whale species were nearly destroyed by whaling.

Associated Press Reporter Jim Fitzgerald investigates the sightings:

• Read the full ABC News article.

Learn more:

• Read about Humpback Whales in Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Online Field Guide.
• Explore Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s plans to protect marine mammals in New Jersey.
• On Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s blog: Humpback Whales and Great White Sharks Increasing in New York Harbor.

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Coordinator for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.