Finally some good news! In 2010 there were a total of 5 whale sightings off the coast of NYC. That's right, five. Last year, the number of whales spotted was a staggering 272! That is a 540% increase in just 8 years! And almost all of the whales spotted have been humpbacks! This is such a wonderful triumph. And we have environmental policies such as the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act to thank for that.
Paul Sieswerda, once a curator at the New York Aquarium for over 20 years before starting Gotham Whale, says lessening the pollution in the Hudson River has also played a large part in this whale restoration. According to Pew Charitable Trust's Mid-Atlantic Conservation Project, the most important fish in the sea is the fish Menhaden - due to how many other sea animals eat them (including the humpback whale). And the Menhaden are attracted to tiny green algae, which the cleaner water at the Hudson river was able to provide.
Sieswerda had this to say about the majestic giants of the sea, "The sheer size alone is incredible. They're like buses, and to think that's a living animal and to think that has the power and grace to completely jump out of the water when they breach is a spectacle that I think is unique to the animal kingdom."
