HARTFORD, Conn — It has been the year of the whale on Long Island Sound, where fishermen and other boaters have reveled in the return of the marine mammals after a long hiatus.
The highly unexpected sightings began in May, when three belugas were spotted off Fairfield, Conn. A minke whale was seen off Norwalk later in May. And there have been several humpback sightings in recent weeks, including as far west as Mamaronek, N.Y., according to records kept by The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk.
Whales haven’t been seen in the western part of the sound since 1993, when a 30-foot finback was spotted in New Haven Harbor, said Joe Schnierlein, research and university liaison for the aquarium.
Videos and photos of humpbacks breaching the surface have been posted online by boaters who were both excited and frightened by the close encounters.
On Saturday, Chris Curran of Darien, Conn., caught a young humpback whale on cellphone video breaching the water 20 to 30 feet from his boat about 1½ miles off Darien and Norwalk, while he was with his 8-year-old son and his son’s friend.
Curran said the humpback appeared to be a young whale about 10 to 15 feet long; it came out of the water about nine times, the last time being the closest.
“I was having heart palpitations I was so excited,” Curran said. “The boys were fearful for their lives. They thought it was an orca. I was never concerned about it hitting the boat until that last incident, then I got out of there fast.”
Schnierlein believes the whales were attracted by a big increase in bait fish, including menhaden, which are rich in omega-3 oils and calories. He surmises menhaden have increased because of 2-year-old harvesting restrictions on them and a lack of rain, which he believes has reduced pollution-laden runoff from entering the sound.
