The St. Lawrence, teeming with life!
The rich, dynamic marine environments of the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf are home to many whales. The St. Lawrence’s tides, currents, and the contour of its marine trench yield amazing cloudlike concentrations of fish and plankton that can stretch for many kilometers. It’s no wonder that this kind of “fine dining” helps make the St. Lawrence one of the world’s premier whale watching destinations!
You can marvel at the various species of marine mammals that visit the St. Lawrence seasonally, including the beluga, the only species that lives here year round. You also can observe the three species of seal that are routinely spotted here.
BALEEN WHALESThe 13 whales of the St. Lawrence
SEALSHarbor seal (English)
Phoque commun (French)
Phoca vitualina (Latin)
Length: 1.45 to 1.5 meters
Weight: 100 kg
(May grow to 1.9 meters)
Population:
These small seals are year-round residents of the St. Lawrence. But they
are threatened—by contamination, grey seals that compete for food, and human
activity.
Phoque gris (français)
Grey seal (anglais)
Halichoerus grypus (latin)
Length: 2 to 2.4 meters
Weight: 225 to 300 kg (and possibly up to 450 kg)
Characteristics:
Population:
Grey seals leave the estuary during winter to mate on the ice near Prince
Edward Island and Sable Island, off the Nova Scotia coast. There are many
grey seals in the St. Lawrence.
Harp seal (English)
Phoque du Groenland (French)
Phoca groenlandica (Latin)
Length: 1.6 to 1.9 meters
Weight: 85 to 180 kg
Population:
Harp seals, winter visitors to the St. Lawrence, can be seen increasingly
in summer. They often form large groups, and their movements just under
the surface cause the water to bubble as if it is boiling. With a population
of several million in the St. Lawrence, they are hunted commercially. .
Photos provided by GREMM (Group for Research and
Education on Marine Mammals). Essipit Cruises and GREMM are partners
in various marine mammal research efforts. |
Learn more and become a savvy spotter!For more information on these magnificent marine mammals, visit these sites.
Whales
On-line [Baleines en direct]
A reference and news site dedicated to education for the conservation of
whales of the St. Lawrence and their natural habitat.
The
Whale Route [La route des baleines]
A 14-day, 2,400-km journey (map and information)
Les baleines de
l'Atlantique Nord, biologie et écologie (MultiMondes)
Few people can claim to know as much about whales as Pierre-Henry Fontaine.
In this book he describes his efforts to pass that knowledge on, and provides
a wealth of information on these mysterious animals, including their evolution,
adaptation, behavior, and interaction with humans.
Group for Research
and Education on Marine Mammals
Founded in 1985, GREMM is a nonprofit organization dedicated to marine environment
conservation education and scientific research on marine mammals of the
St. Lawrence.
Mingan Island
Cetacean Study
MICS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to marine mammal
ecological studies. Founded in 1979 by Richard Sears, it was the first organization
to carry out long-term research on cetaceans in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
