Humpback Whale(s) In Pillar Point Harbor Chomping on the Anchovies ~ Paddlers Please Stay 100 Yards Away and Boats Go Slow

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Good morning, Neighbors!

I was made aware that the humpback is still in the harbor this morning. I came on here to caution folks about approaching it by kayak/boat/paddleboard. This whale is stressed out enough and doing so will make a bad situation worse.

Typically, trying to herd whales out of small spaces isn’t successful, so the plan at this time is to let the whale find its own way out.

Also, a reminder that all marine mammals are federally protected by The Marine Mammal Protection Act, and this particular stock of humpbacks is also listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

I know most humans are compassionate and want to help this animal but the best thing is to let it work this out on its own and ask folks trying to approach it to please give it a wide berth – at least 100 yards. If you are motoring through the harbor, please go slow as you come and go.

California Academy of Sciences, The Marine Mammal Center, and NOAA’s west coast office are all aware and are monitoring the situation closely, so no need to call anybody about it.

This whale and I thank you for your cooperation.

~ From Coastsider Sue Pemberton, on Nextdoor, who also works at the California Academy of Sciences

Comments on Sue’s Post

Barry Day (PPH commercial fisherman)
The whale is chomping on all the anchovies in the harbor. It’s doing fine.

Dan Stegink (rescue diver)
In 2015 & 2018 there were 2-3 whales that made their way in. They were lunge feeding for a day and made their way out. Humpbacks don’t echolocate, but they are excellent navigators.

Dru Devlin (works with NOAA and national marine sanctuaries)
The majority of the whales seen off our CA coast are traveling from Costa Rica, Mexico north. Occasionally we will get a Humpback whale from Hawaii and west, but not usually. Here is a really interesting research article from Cascadia Cetacean research chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/192/m192p295.pdf

NOTE. A video on ND (within Sue Pemberton’s post comments) showed that there may be TWO whales in the harbor. Zack Henry and Marcy Amato also captured videos.

Photos by Chris Deimler.