Boating warning issued as dozens of whales cavort off coast – News10

This boating warning means to prevent further threats of vessels of hitting or striking the whales where officials urge large ships to slow down to 10 knots along boat traffic lanes that are leading up to San Francisco. About 115 humpbacks were documented in just one hour near the Farallon Islands on July 4th, as indicated by a San Jose Mercury-News report. Recreational and private owned boats which include fishermen are advised to stay away at least 300 feet of distance which is a federal minimum distance guideline. Whales are protected against harassment by law under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, with the humpback, blue and fin whales being listed in the Endangered Species Act.

Roger Thomas, the 80-year-old dean of the Bay Area salmon fleet who serves as skipper of Sausalito’s Salty Lady, said there seem to be more whales near shore this year than ever before. “It’s unbelievable”, Thomas said.

The experts say that it remains unclear how long this situation is going to last, given the fact that the whales are most likely here for food, which is more abundant than in other places, so this is a sort of paradise for them.

Their jumping and swimming around can prove fatal for the inexperienced boater who gets too close to the whale.

Reported by specialists, the influx of whales comes after an abnormally high concentration of krill – a tiny crustacean not unlike a shrimp which is an important part of the blue whales’ diet – and also due to the presence of very numerous and distinct anchovies schools, which are the preferred diet of hunchback whales. “They come right up to you”, Thomas said, as stated by Marin Independent Journal.

With such abundance of feed, Thomas said this salmon fishing season is proving to be a good one.

The Ross-based Oceanic Society offers trips with a naturalist for $128; call the society at 415-256-9604.

“The humpbacks at the entrance to the bay have been hanging out for weeks”, said Sincero.

“There are lots of humpbacks out there”, she noted.