Near New York Harbor, the Song of Whales - NYTimes.com

Near New York Harbor, the Song of Whales By Kenneth Chang Published: September 17, 2008 "Not too far out from New York Harbor, whales sing." Interesting report, one would hope there might be some way to protect the six or more species found in "song" out there. Years ago I stood next to two whales probably Minke next to the shore on the Grand Manan Channel according to the researcher I spoke with from Guelph University researching the marine mammal life on Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, Canada where my mother's family in part is from. The two whales were down at "The Whistle" beach, a now automated lighthouse my cousin, Willard Parker, and his family once "manned" across the channel from Campobello Island where the American Roosevelt family had its "cottage" that FDR once used to stay at (i.e., the "Sunrise at Campobello" film) which now has a bridge to for visiting. The researchers were using a small crossbow to shoot a dart attached to a string to retrieve a small piece of whale skin to do DNA analysis while recording the different characteristics of the individuals in the small "right whale" pod that has a nursery there, migrating along the shore from Florida to Canada, along the Eastern Seaboard. The North Wind Institute on City Island in the Bronx, NY has an example of simulated whale skin one can touch. They also invented a harness to tow beached whales off the beach. They are sometimes well-meaningfully, though mistakenly, towed by a power boat by the tail, where often they just sink and drown. The harness attached, allows the power boat to tow the whale head first so that it can keep its "blow hole" above the waterline and continue to breath.

Near New York Harbor, the Song of Whales - NYTimes.com