WISCASSET, Maine — People in Wiscasset were treated to a special experience Thursday morning, spotting a humpback whale in the Sheepscot River.
Multiple people got video of the whale rising to the surface of the river, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed it was a humpback.
A NOAA spokesperson told NEWS CENTER Maine whales, especially humpback whales, are frequently sighted near the mouth of the Sheepscot River. However, there has not been a whale sighted this far up the river in the past.
The spoksperson also said there were reports of bait fish in the area, and it appeared the whale was feeding on menhaden, a fish found in coastal and brackish waters from Nova Scotia to northern Florida,'
Marine Mammals of Maine, a nonprofit environmental conservation organization, said in a Facebook post Friday that it had been monitoring the young whale for a few days. The organization said the whale appeared healthy and no human intervention was needed.
Humpback whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which means interacting with them is illegal.
"Federal guidelines suggest viewing humpback whales at a minimum distance of at least 100 yards. Approaches should be done slowly at a no-wake speed, and engines put in neutral when whales approach to pass," NOAA told NEWS CENTER Maine via email. "Vessels should not enter into an area where whales are actively feeding. These guidelines are established to minimize the risk of harassment or encroaching on the animals in a way that changes their behavior or interferes with their activities, which is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)."
"Even when following these guidelines boater behavior can still impact animals and it does not guarantee that a harmful interaction will not occur," Marine Mammals of Maine said. "People have been injured and thrown from vessels, had their vessels damaged from close approaches to feeding humpback whales, and caused injury to the whales."