Rare Blue Whale Sightings Off Martha’s Vineyard

One of the blue blue whales spotted off New England. Photo/New England Aquarium.

An “unusual occurrence” recently happened off New England as researchers spotted endangered blue whales on two consecutive days, 170 miles apart, including in an area where they hadn’t been reported before.

One of the blue blue whales spotted off New England. Photo/New England Aquarium.

Map showing where the blue whales were spotted.

Researchers at the New England Aquarium said scientists from the aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life spotted a blue whale over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument during an aerial survey on Friday, February 27.

The next day, Saturday, February 28, the team noticed two more blue whales 170 miles away in southern New England. The whales were just 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Aquarium officials said it was the first time their team had recorded any blue whales in that survey area.

Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth and remain endangered, with an estimated 400 to 600 individuals in the western North Atlantic. They are most commonly studied in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and aquarium officials said sightings in New England waters are rare, making these observations especially significant.

“Seeing blue whales outside of their Canadian feeding grounds is rare in the Atlantic,” said Katherine McKenna, Associate Scientist in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center who was aboard both survey flights. “Finding them in two different areas of the ocean just 24 hours apart was a first for us.”

Aquarium researchers had sighted blue whales in New England waters just two other times before: once in the Monument in 2020 and once off the coast of Maine in the fall of 2023. Other research teams in the area have also sporadically sighted blue whales in New England.

“Encountering blue whales spread out across the waters off southern New England likely means that oceanographic conditions are ripe for them to find food,” said Research Scientist Orla O’Brien, who sighted the whales during the Feb. 28 flight. “Blue whales can range over huge swaths of the ocean unseen by scientists, so each sighting gives us an important glimpse into their winter and spring movements.”

During the Monument survey, researchers documented more than 300 marine animals, including endangered fin and sperm whales, pilot whales, and hundreds of dolphins, highlighting the extraordinary biodiversity of the Monument.

The sightings came a month after the Trump Administration announced the rollback of protections for the Monument, which is the only U.S. marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. The area, an underwater sanctuary about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, is home to deep-sea corals, various fish species, whales, and sea turtles. Regular aerial surveys by the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center showcase the diverse range of marine mammals that use this habitat.