Ponte Vedra, FL — The first whales of the migratory season were spotted off Northeast Florida’s Atlantic coast last week, according to the Marineland Right Whale Project.
Two mother and calf pairs were seen swimming south off the coast of Ponte Vedra, just south of Jacksonville, during an aerial survey by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
North Atlantic Right Whales migrate from Maine to Florida’s warmer east coast waters to give birth. Female whales, and occasionally males, start arriving as early as December and stay until March or April, depending on temperatures.
Because they swim slowly and often are close to shore, they can be seen from shore. The Marineland Right Whale Project has approximately 800 citizens along the coast who volunteer to watch for and report the whales. The whale’s location is then sent to commercial shippers and the U.S. Navy in hopes of avoiding a collision with the slow-moving mammals.
A humpback whale was also spotted off Flagler Beach by a local photographer.
