With an estimated one million species of animal living in the ocean, the diversity of ocean life is truly amazing! While most of us might think about sea turtles, dolphins or the biggest sea creature of all, the blue whale, as our favourite underwater wonder, not every species in the ocean is quite so… photogenic. Most of the spookiest sea creatures live deep beneath the ocean surface, where the sunlight barely reaches. This environment houses some of the most interesting and ugliest(!) animals that have only recently been discovered by scientists due to the remarkable conditions where they exist and thrive.
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This spooky season, we want to share with you some of the spookiest sea creatures! Be brave and dive into our top ten list!

​Coffinfish, colloquially known around Australia (where they are most commonly found) as Sea Toads, are benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish with the ability to use their fins to walk along the seafloor! They are ambush predators, whose facial expressions typically look really sad, because of the shape of their mouths. However, they are able to inflate their body with water which allows them to hold their breath for up to four minutes!! This is supposedly so that they can conserve energy when food on the ocean floor is scarce. And when they do… they look kind of like a cute balloon?! 

​Although completely harmless to humans unless provoked (they have been known to threaten scuba divers who get too close…), the Sarcastic Fringehead is well known for opening its huge mouth to fend off other ocean-dwelling critters when provoked or agitated. They live in burrows or tube-like structures created by other animals, such as burrowing clams or snail shells. Their specifically-designed jaws fan out to the side when they open their mouths, which makes them appear much larger and more intimidating. If one Sarcastic Fringehead challenges another, the two will “kiss” by aggressively pressing their open mouths against each other until one finally gives up and swims away!

This deep sea fish is transparent and has the ability to move its eyes 360 degrees so they can see what’s going on (and what’s for dinner) even when it’s behind them! Scientists only fully discovered this species in 2009, when they identified that their eyes can fully rotate inside of their head. Another quirky trait of the Barreleye is that it engulfs its prey fully! The Barreleye, like many species on this spooky list, lives deep in the ocean where there is hardly any light, so their specially designed eyes allow them to see even in almost complete darkness.

Unlike other squid (which can be surprisingly aggressive as tiny sea critters go!), Vampire Squid are surprisingly docile (no, they don’t suck the blood of their prey!). Vampire Squid actually feast mainly on “marine snow”, decaying organic material that falls down to the ocean floor. The spookiest feature of the Vampire Squid is its strange appearance, notably it’s umbrella-like tentacles!

​You guessed it, these guys are ugly. Nonetheless, they use their impressive ugliness to their advantage; they use their elongated, flattened snout to seek out their prey with specialized sensing organs to sense electric fields in the darkness of the deep ocean, and they can extend their jaw the entire length of their snout to catch their prey (mainly squid, fish and crustaceans) with their 50 thin, sharp teeth! Thankfully they only grow to be 8-11 inches long!

​Only found in the eastern United States, this frightening fish burrows itself in the sand to camouflage and can use its side fins as shovels to quickly burrow and hide beneath the sand. When unsuspecting prey comes near, the stargazer has a special organ on its head that can deliver an electric shock that stuns and confuses the prey and electrically shocks it into submission. Seems like not only is this guy pretty painful to look at, but might be pretty painful to encounter on the bottom of the ocean...

Yet another deep-sea carnivore, this anglerfish, also known as the humpback anglerfish, has to be one of the ugliest and spookiest creatures on the planet! Most famous for the bioluminescent growth on their heads, which lures their prey towards them, and to their death, deep in the darkness of the ocean. This lure is filled with bacteria, which the fish use to make their own light. They use a muscular flap of skin to either expose or hide the glowing lure. Pulsing the light and slowly moving it back and forth attracts all kinds of prey. Creepy, right? Not to mention their razor sharp, translucent teeth and their dead-looking eyes...

​Belonging to the Siphonophores, a group of animals including corals and jellyfish, is probably one of the weirdest creatures floating around in the ocean; first captured on video by oil and gas workers in 2015, at around 1220m depth. It has been nicknamed the “flying spaghetti monster” for its white, noodle-like appearance. Perhaps the quirkiest fact about these guys is that Siphonophores actually clone themselves in order to grow! Instead of a single body, one siphonophore is a whole tightly knit colony of many organisms, sometimes several thousands!

​Also known as the crystal jellyfish, this ghostly, translucent critter can give off a green-blue glow when provoked or disturbed, due to the 100 or more tiny, light-producing organs that surround its outer bell. Glow in the dark and a skeleton costume? This guy is permanently embracing spooky season down there on the ocean floor!

​Perhaps not as terrifying as some of the others, but by far my favourite spooky sea creature is this little guy; the ghost fish! Spotted alive and swimming for the very first time by a team of NOAA research scientists in 2016, we are still learning all about the ghost fish, which was seen swimming in the Mariana Trench at around 2500 m depth!! With translucent, scale-less skin and small colourless eyes, the ghost fish is undeniably bizarre and gives me perfect spooky season vibes!

​When most individuals “see red”, they are getting angry. When I “see red”, I am getting excited because I probably just spotted red algae (Rhodophyta)!

Unlike the brown algal species described here, red algae contains a pigment called phycoerythin which absorbs blue light and reflects – you guessed it – red light. The more phycoerythin a species has, the redder it appears. What local, Nova Scotian red algae species below do you think has the most phycoerythin?

​Not only does the colour differ, but there are other morphological (or the way something looks) differences between these four red algae species. You may have noticed, for example, that Corallina looks hard and articulated whereas Porphya looks soft and sheet-like. Perhaps it was the ooey-gooey, worm-like Nemalion that first caught your eye or the branching Chondrus. Whatever it was, I am sure you’d agree that there is a lot of morphological (there’s that word again) variation between these four species. Now, what would you say if I told you there are more than 6,000 species of red algae?

​Although there are morphological differences galore amongst red algae, there are also differences in how species are used by us! Would you believe me if I told you certain Corallina species are dried and used as a bone-forming material? It’s true! Chondrus crispus’s use is equally mind-blowing: did you know that it is harvested and used in Jell-O, ice cream, and vegan gelatin? It’s true! What about Porphya? It’s true that Porhyra is used in sushi! What about Nemalion, did you know it is harvested by aliens to make spaghetti? Okay, maybe that last one isn’t true.

Regardless of what it looks like or what we use it for, I hope that you get excited the next time you “see red”.

Imagine a motorcycle revving through your house while you get ready for school, make a meal, or talk to your family.  That motorcycle would be loud, kick up dirt everywhere, and make it difficult to do the things you normally do.  No one signs up for that!

That is a taste of what marine creatures in the Halifax Harbour have been experiencing for decades.  Big container ships, recreational boats, and ferries drive through their living rooms, making lots of noise and polluting their space.

Fortunately, the Halifax Harbour will be changing soon! However, before we talk about the good things coming our way, we need to talk about why things need to change – we need to talk about how animals in the Halifax Harbour are affected by noise pollution.
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Whales are heavily impacted by boat noise, because they use echolocation to find their food and move around the ocean. Echolocation is when animals like whales and dolphins send out sounds in the water, and listen for those sounds to echo back to them, helping them figure out what is around them. While whales are rare visitors to the Harbour, some more common creatures are affected by noise, too.

Animals that you see in the Touch Tank Hut like crabs and urchins can also be affected by noise. Noise pollution can reduce all marine creature’s ability to communicate, navigate, locate prey, avoid predators, and find mates. Ecological acts that are key to ocean health that are performed by invertebrates, such as water filtration and mixing sediment layers, are also negatively affected by noise. Overall, noise stresses animals out and it stops them from doing all the things that they normally would.

Boats can also cause silt (ocean floor dirt) to be turned up which can make moving around very tricky. Boats can also leave behind unwanted fuel and other pollutants while they move through the water.

Thankfully, our sea friends will soon be catching a small break. Electric ferries are coming to the Halifax Harbour starting in 2022. Electric ferries are quieter and don’t use gas.

​Hooray! 
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​June 16th is World Sea Turtle Day! To celebrate, let's talk about a sea turtle that’s a bit closer to home than you may have realized.

​When you picture a sea turtle habitat, I bet you’re picturing a lush tropical beach with crystal clear turquoise water. That’s not incorrect! We can find many different sea turtle species in the tropics. However, there is one special species that likes to visit Nova Scotia’s waters on an annual basis. Welcome to the wonderful world of the leatherback sea turtle!
 
The presence of leatherback sea turtles in Nova Scotia is a relatively new finding in the scientific world, although fishermen all across Atlantic Canada reported sightings of these turtles long before the first scientific article was published.  
 
Named after the thick skin that covers their shells, leatherback sea turtles visit Atlantic Canada and the North Atlantic ocean as part of their migration route. They can be spotted in Atlantic Canadian waters during the summer months, and then during the fall they begin their journey back down to the tropics to mate and nest.
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​​Not only is it awesome that Canada has its own sea turtle species, but we actually have (in my opinion) the most fin-tastic sea turtle! Although there are many reasons as to why the leatherback is so incredible, I’m going to highlight three of my favourite reasons below.
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​Not many people realize just how big sea turtles are. Green sea turtles, which are a popular tropical sea turtle species and sometimes found in Atlantic Canada, are typically 3 to 4 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds. This is similar to the size of a baby elephant!
 
However, Green sea turtles have nothing on leatherback turtles. Leatherback sea turtles are actually one of the largest reptiles on earth! They can reach over 2 meters (6 feet) in length and weigh over 2000 pounds. The only reptile to come close to the size of a leatherback sea turtles is the salt water crocodile!
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​Leatherback turtles do not have a very diverse diet. In fact, they mainly only eat one thing. Based on how big they are, be you may think they eat huge fish or full lobsters – but the reality is a bit more strange!
 
Leatherback sea turtles follow currents from the tropics all the way to Nova Scotia to find one thing: Jellyfish!
 
You read that right, these massive turtles only eat jellyfish and other jellyfish-like animals like tunicates and ctenophores. A single jellyfish doesn’t provide very much nutritional value, so leatherback sea turtles will eat up to their body weight in jellyfish every day! Think about how many more jellyfish would fill our ocean if we didn’t have turtles eating 2000 pounds of jellyfish daily. Thank you leatherbacks! 
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​The last cool leatherback fact I’m going to highlight is their pink spots. Leatherbacks have a very special characteristic that helps us identify them from afar (it comes in handy when trying to spot a leatherback from a boat to tag!). On the back of every leatherbacks head is a pink dot. This is actually an exposed part of their brain!

​Although science is still debating what the actual function of this pink spot is it is theorized it helps identify light and may play a role in leatherback migration! Perhaps a built in GPS? 
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​Unfortunately, similar to other sea turtles species, leatherback sea turtles population numbers have declined, and the species is currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. These turtles face many threats including fisheries bycatch, habitat loss, and plastic pollution.
 
On the plus side, if you’re looking to help leatherbacks you have already have helped just by reading this far into my blog post! Not many people realize how cool leatherback sea turtles are and that they are part of our maritime family. The more people that realize these turtles share our waters and how amazing they are, the better chance the turtles will have for future protection measures. 

​If you are interested in doing more for leatherback sea turtles check out the Canadian Sea Turtle Network who are doing great work for sea turtles in Canada.  If you’re looking for even more leatherback content checkout this fact page by NOAA Fisheries.  
 
Feel free to ask questions about leatherbacks in the comments!

​June 8th is World Oceans Day—or, depending on who you ask, World Ocean Day. Why is there a debate? Surely, in an age where thousands of satellites orbit the Earth, we know how many oceans there are? But it turns out, it’s a little more complicated. 
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​If you listen to Eurythmics or are a pirate from the olden-times, you might have heard that there are “seven seas”. What exactly are they? That rather depends on who you ask, and when.
 
First of all, even though “seas” and “oceans” are often used interchangeably, geographers make a distinction: seas are smaller and are often partially enclosed by land. Secondly, many different cultures and eras used “seven seas” as a catch-all term for the waters that extended towards the limits of their known world. For the ancient Persians, the “seven seas” were actually rivers and in Central Asia. It wasn’t until Europeans began exploring the world that the seven seas came to include the oceans as we know them today.
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​So, let’s count the oceans and see if they add up to seven. We already know three of them: the Arctic, the Pacific, and the Atlantic. The fourth ocean is the Indian Ocean, located between Africa, Asia, and Australia. And that’s where the list ends—for some people. Others recognize a fifth ocean surrounding Antarctica called the Southern Ocean. In 2000, the International Hydrological Society—the global authority on nautical charts—proposed a new boundary for the Southern Ocean. But it was never ratified by all the member states, so its “official” existence remains up in the air, and some maps don’t include it. 
 
As the previous example makes clear, the reasons why we create boundaries between oceans can sometimes be a bit arbitrary. It’s hard to say exactly where one ocean ends and another one begins. Even though we talk about different oceans and seas, all the water in the ocean is connected, although it can take a very long time--up to 1,000 years—for a parcel of water to make its way from end of the ocean to another. That’s why some people think we should call it World Ocean Day: to remind ourselves that there’s only one big, interconnected ocean that we’re a part of, too.
 
The ocean is complicated—and people make it even more complicated. No matter which way you to choose to celebrate, Ocean Day or Oceans Day, I hope you take some time today to think about the incredible waters that make up 71 percent of our planet and how we can protect them. 
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"April showers bring May flowers”.
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A hopeful expression that is heard and repeated by many in Atlantic Canada as we collectively say goodbye to the winter and get excited about the summer. A lesser-known expression with similar sentiments is “When spring winds are a-blowing, kelp are actively growing”. Okay, I may have made up the expression, but the information within is true – spring is the time when most kelp grow most actively!

​​The term ‘kelp’ refers to a mix of brown algal species that can be recognized by their large blade (leaf-like structure), long and strong stipe (stem-like structure), and anchoring holdfast. Some examples of kelp species found in the coastal ocean around Nova Scotia are Lasagna Kelp (Saccharina latissima), Colander Kelp (Agarum clathratum), and Oarweed (Laminaria digitata). Which drawing do you think matches each kelp name? 
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​If you guessed (from left to right), Lasagna kelp, Oarweed, and Colander kelp, you’re right! These are all kelps you’re likely to find washed up along our Nova Scotia coast, so keep an eye out for them on your next beach walk!
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​​Kelp is one of the fastest growing seaweeds in the world and Nova Scotia kelp can reach upwards of 10 metres in length: to visualize, a standard school bus is 10 metres long. Some species around the world can grow up to 60-centimetres in a single day! Kelp grows so large and so quickly by using photosynthesis to produce sugars, just like land plants. Unlike land plants who gain nutrients through their roots, however, kelps gain their nutrients directly from the surrounding water.   
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​Spring is a particularly wonderful time for kelp growth because these processes – photosynthesis and nutrient uptake – are working particularly well together. Photosynthesis, for one, is improved as light can reach the ocean floor largely unfiltered by suspended, blooming algae or by a canopy of larger kelp, as happens later in the summer. The availability of nutrients is also improved as wind and other upwelling-inducing events bring deep, cold, nutrient-packed water to shallow, kelp-infested waters. As they say, “When spring winds are a-blowing, kelp are actively growing”.
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Tune in next time for when we explore red algae!

Learn more about one species of kelp, in Back to the Sea Society’s Lasagna Kelp (Saccharina latissima) Shell & Tell episode. 
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​Kaitlin is a self-identified ocean lover and wannabe communicator who has been volunteering with Back to the Sea for years. Equipped with a degree in marine biology, she is an avid advocate for ocean literacy, curiosity, and stewardship and feels passionate about collaborating with others to make information available and accessible. Working by day and blogging by night, she aims to post about all the interesting, fascinating, and just plain weird happenings that occur in the ocean.

By: Leah Robertson

​Scientists and conservationists around the globe did a collective jump for joy when the United Nations declared 2021-2030 to be the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development – the Ocean Decade for short. Now more than ever, we must work together to produce “the science we need for the ocean we want”. The ultimate goal is for scientists to work together fully support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.


The United Nation has a multitude of organizations that have a stake in ocean development and sustainability. From the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), these organizations all oversee unique aspects to managing our world ocean. Together, they work to benefit future generations of humankind.
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​Currently, global ocean science research is distributed unevenly. Some nations generate very low rates of scientific research compared to others, as shown in the photo below. Globally, ocean science only accounts for between 0.04% - 4% of total government research and expenditure. A goal of the Ocean Decade is to improve scientific capacity in regions which are presently limited in capability, as well as building up the amount of research worldwide. This global way of thinking is especially important, because even for landlocked countries the ocean is important for the health and survival of every person in the world.

​For us at Back to the Sea Society, the Ocean Decade means better science and a continued effort towards ocean conservation. Throughout the year, and especially in the summers, we work to share our scientific knowledge with others. This is in the hopes that the more we know about the ocean, the more we will work to protect it. An Ocean Decade means more science than ever to share. We are excited to follow along in the developments and continue to make our own contributions to ocean literacy and education!
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Atlantic Canada had some of the gorgeous, diverse, and stunning coral reefs we see all around the tropics? Well guess what, we do! They are just a little harder to see from the shore... ​
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The Atlantic Ocean is home to many species of cold-water, or deep-water coral species. Now before we get into that, what is a coral?

​Corals are often mistaken for plants, but they are actually very important animals. Corals are part of the cnidarian phylum which also consists of our friends the jellyfish and sea anemones. I like to think of corals as a colony of tiny upside-down jellyfish. Picture a jelly with its tentacles up and their bells stuck to a limestone skeleton - this single individual  is called a polyp. The large corals we see when we look at a reef are composed of colonies of many coral polyps.
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Unlike tropical corals, cold-water corals don’t need sunlight to eat and live. The waters surrounding Atlantic Canada is home to many species of cold-water corals. It’s hard to say how many species of cold-water corals exist since scientists have only been studying these corals for the last decade. But there are at least 45 described species in Canada's Atlantic Ocean. These corals can be found living at depths greater than 4 kilometers, living in waters as cold as -1ºC (which happens to be the average temperature of Halifax in December). ​​
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Another reasons these corals are so cool is their age and size. These corals are OLD, like very old. Radiocarbon dating of a coral off the coast of Norway estimates it to be around 8,000 years old, give or take a few thousand years. It one of the longest living animals! Some corals studied in Atlantic Canada were also found to be over 1,000 years old.

These old corals are of great importance. By looking at their skeletons, we can use corals as a climate change indicator by determining historical water temperatures and other conditions from thousands of years ago. These deep-water corals are also huge. One species, the bubblegum coral, is said to be the largest marine invertebrate species with some reaching 6-10 meters in height! 
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Due to COVID-19, this year we were unable to open the beloved Touch Tank Hut located in Dartmouth. However, we still wanted to find a way to bring the ocean to eye level and engage everyone with amazing local marine life. And thus, Tidal Trekkers was born!

We like to describe our Tidal Trekkers programs as coastal field trip adventures. We had four different unique programs in total that were carried out over the summer at different waterfront locations around the Halifax area. And let me tell you, it was a blast! I was able to attend almost all the treks that took place and I would love to share some of my favourite memories that took places over the summer!
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Top 4 Favourite Memories!
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​Coming in at #4 is the Hartlen Point crabs. Our first Trek at Hartlen Point was one of my favourites because the location was absolutely beautiful and I could’ve stayed there to look for periwinkles and tiny crabs under the rocks for the whole day. During this Trek we had a wonderful volunteer snorkeler (shout-out to Stefan) look for some cool animals a bit farther in the water than we could walk out too. He came back with two gorgeous rock crabs (Cancer irroratus)!

Crabs are one of my favourite animals to spot around the Nova Scotian intertidal area. If they look familiar, it’s because they are quite common, however still very neat to find! I think one of my favourite things about rock crabs is that they are not green crabs and will probably not try and pinch me unless I’m really annoying it, but I always treat my crab friends with the upmost respect.

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​My #3 favourite Tidal Trekker memory is ….. algae! I know, this may sound weird. Out of all the cool things we were able to spot I choose to talk about algae? Well, after doing lots of research on all the living organisms that we can find in intertidal areas, I have found a new love for algae. I learned just how cool and important algae is.

A fun fact about algae are that Green Algae have their own built-in anchors called holdfasts that keep them from drifting away into the sea so that they’re always able to reach the sun for photosynthesis. Crazy! During our last Tidal Trekkers of the year we went back to Hartlen Point after Hurricane Teddy and there was so much algae washed up onto the beach that there was no sand in sight! 

​Now it’s time for #2! My second favourite Tidal Trekkers memory has to be: Sea Stars! Or one sea star in particular. During one of our last treks we spotted the biggest sea star EVER! Now, I don’t like to brag but I am pretty familiar with the stars of the sea and when I tell you this is the largest sea star I have ever seen, I am not lying. This enthralling echinoderm was bigger than my head (see picture below). 

It's not unlikely for a Common Sea Star (Asterias rubens) to get this large in size, but it is pretty rare to find one that big so close to the shore. Other species can get even bigger with the largest sea star species being the sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) that can reach an arm span of 1 metre and weighing up to 11 pounds!  ​

​And now for the moment you have continued reading this far for, my #1 memory….
 
Getting to nerd out about the ocean all summer long! This might be a bit anti-climactic, but in all truthfulness, getting to share my love for the oceans and all the wonderful and wacky creatures in it was a dream come true. I looooooove to talk ocean and I’m sure my roommates were very happy I was able to talk to some other people for a change and give them a small break (just kidding, they love my ocean facts…I hope). Every trek we found something super cool and got to talk about all the astonishing animals and species that call the ocean home. If you were able to leave our treks learning even just one thing, then I did my job, and I definitely had fun doing it!

Photo by Venessa Mignon

Today, I’m going to talk to you about my favourite species of whales: Humpback Whales
Whales or Cetaceans are marine mammals, they are split into two general types, “Odontocetes” which include the toothed whales and dolphins and “Mysticeti” which are the Baleen Whales. Humpback Whales are baleen whales that range in size from around 50-62 ft, Females are usually larger than Males! They live in seas and oceans around the world and carry long migrations of about 25,000 km each year from where they feed in polar waters in the summer to waters around the equator in the winter to breed. They have a life span that ranges from 45 to about a 100 years! Their diet consists of krill, small fish like herrings/sardines and plankton. Humpback Whales also have different techniques to trap fish such as Bubble net feeding. They gulp enormous mouthfuls of their prey and seawater. Using their baleen plates, they then filter out the water. Due to their size humpback whales need to eat a lot of prey to survive. In fact, an adult humpback whale can consume up to 1360kg of food each day! Please watch this video of humpbacks performing bubble net feeding off the coast of Alaska.

Photo by Hawaii Wildlife Fund

Here’s a picture we took of a male humpback whale breaching

​Other than their natural beauty itself, my favourite characteristic of Humpback whales are their “vocalizations” that range from low whistles to high pitched squeals and rumbling. Whales have no vocal cords like us humans, so they produce sound through a structure in their throat. Although both male and females can vocalize, males are the ones that produce complex songs which travel long distances through the ocean. Studies have shown that males may sing continuously for more than 24 hours. Another interesting fact is that whales within a large area, sing a single song. For example, all North Atlantic humpback whales sing the same song and North Pacific whales sing a different song. Scientists still don’t know the exact purpose of these whale songs, but they think it is to attract females or communicate with other males. Click here to hear a beautiful male humpback whale song.