Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • S p r i n g 2 0 1 9 54 JERSEY SHORE IMAGES �in Whale Encounter photographs by David Turton • Sunday, August 5, 2018 P hotographer David Turton captured these images of a fin whale while fishing in the Chicken Canyon, about 56 miles off Manasquan Inlet. Turton and others were aboard Capt. Carl Luch LaManna's C-Annamal VII, a 36' Cape Horn Offshore with triple 300 Yamahas. Turton told the story: "Tommy Russell said 'Whale coming toward the boat!' I put my Joe Leone's sand- wich down and rushed to get my camera out of my bag. Then I pro- ceeded to the bow and caught him just going underneath. The fin whale literally rubbed its back under the boat beneath my feet." Next to the blue whale, the fin whale is the second largest mammal in the world. They have a distinct ridge along their back behind the dorsal fin, which gives it the nick- name "razorback." Fin whales have a very unusual feature: the lower right jaw is bright white and the lower left jaw is black. Some scientists have speculated that fin whales circle schools of fish with the white side facing the prey and frightening them into denser schools that are easier for the whale to catch. Like other baleen whales, the fin whale strains its food from the water through baleen plates. The fin whale has been severely impacted worldwide by commercial whaling. Nearly 750,000 animals were killed in areas of the Southern Hemisphere alone between 1904 and 1979, and they are rarely seen there today. Their current status is unknown in most areas outside of the North Atlantic. Hunted by commercial whalers until the last century for oil, meat, and baleen, fin whales in the North Atlantic are listed as endangered. As a result, some populations are far- Information courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund. www.worldwildlife.org. ing better. Still, commercial whaling remains a threat for fin whales. After a two-year hiatus, Iceland resumed commercial fin whaling in 2013 with a quota of 184 whales. The major- ity of the whale meat ends up in Japanese markets. Like other large whales, fin whales are also threatened by environmental change including habitat loss, toxins, and climate change. Said Turton of the encounter, "It was the most incredible rush of the entire day…better than catching a white marlin and or any tuna." u

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