DEEP advises for safe whale watching

With the recent sighting of humpback and beluga whales in Long Island Sound, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Wednesday reminded boaters to follow regulations to avoid endangering whales.

Videos and photos of humpbacks breaching the surface have been posted online by boaters who were both excited and frightened by the close encounters.

Whale sightings in the eastern part of Long Island Sound also are uncommon events, according to records kept by Mystic Aquarium. “The boys were fearful for their lives. I was never concerned about it hitting the boat until that last incident then I got out of there fast”. No whales have been seen east of the Connecticut River, he said.

It was the summer of the whale this year on Long Island Sound, where fishermen and other boaters reveled in the return of the marine mammals after what appears to have been a two-decade hiatus.

NOAA asks boaters to report right whale sightings or any observations of a marine mammal in trouble to 866-755-6622.

Humpback whales have been spotted in the western Sound in recent weeks, including sitings in waters off Stamford, Greenwich and Darien, said David Simpson, director of marine fisheries for DEEP.

A joint study done by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) in 2007 indicated that rising water temperatures could cause whale species to “shift their distributions to remain within optimal habitat”.