Overview
- Gotham Whale announced Tuesday that the New York City Humpback Whale Catalog reached 500 individually identified humpbacks, with the juvenile labeled NYC0500 observed feeding near Sandy Hook and Coney Island.
- The catalog began in 2012 using distinctive tail‑fluke photographs to ID animals, and documented individual humpbacks rose from about 10–30 per year early on to roughly 80–100 per year in recent seasons.
- Researchers say the surge reflects cleaner coastal waters and stronger local fish populations together with warmer northern feeding areas that are shifting humpback foraging closer to the New York region.
- The New York Legislature unanimously passed the Whale Awareness Act and the bill now awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s final action as scientists urge reduced vessel speeds and clearer avoidance guidance to lower collision risk.
- Gotham Whale is expanding monitoring and asking the public and whale‑watch operators to submit photos and GPS coordinates while the group broadens its cataloging after recent fin and right whale sightings.