Humpback whale spotted in Hempstead Bay prompts safety warning to boaters

A humpback whale has been spotted in Hempstead Bay throughout the week, prompting environmental advocates and elected officials to caution boaters in the area.

Reports of a humpback whale around 25 feet long swimming the inland waters of the Hempstead Bay as well as the Sloop Channel started pouring in Sunday, said Robert Weltner, president of the Freeport-based environmental advocacy group Operation SPLASH, which organizes South Shore beach cleanups.

"They were very concerned for its safety and the safety of the boaters," he said of the callers. "With this really nice weather, people are out on the boats like it’s summertime. There’s a lot of boating traffic out there ... It can come up underneath your boat and flip your boat right over."

Whales have been spotted in Long Island’s South Shore bays "three or four times in the last seven years," according to Robert DiGiovanni, Jr., the executive director and chief scientist of the Hampton Bays-based Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, which surveys and aids marine mammals as well as sea turtles.

"It’s not super frequent," DiGiovanni said. "I think it’s something that could be more common, it’s just a matter of where the food is going, if it’s going deeper into our bays or not ... I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of this occurring more."

Multiple agencies have been alerted to the whale’s presence and advise caution. The Town of Hempstead’s Department of Conservation and Waterways "has been working with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, NYS DEC officials and the public to monitor the humpback whale that has been swimming in Sloop Channel for several days," Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin said in a statement. Boaters should "be on the lookout for whales, go slow in the area," and stay a minimum of 100 yards away from any whales they spot as per federal guidelines, Clavin added.

The humpback was most likely following its stomach through Jones Inlet and under the Loop Parkway drawbridge, according to Weltner. He recalled another whale swimming inland to chow down on menhaden, more commonly known as bunker.

"Every now and then, they’re following their food, so if their food swims into the bay, that’s where the whales are going to go," he said. Weltner added that the whale’s journey is comparable to that of the many sharks that ventured toward shore from the Atlantic Ocean this summer, which Newsday previously reported.

Weltner views the inland presence of both the prey and the predator as a positive sign, indicative of cleaner waters and the result of legislation passed in 2019 that prohibits the use of large nets known as purse seines to capture bunkers in state waters.

The cyclical narrowing difference between the high and low tides that occurred this week, during which low tides were higher and high tides were lower, meant "more water coming in" for the whale to travel inland, DiGiovanni added.

Beyond the bays, South Shore residents and visitors were treated to whale watching this summer, and can still catch the creatures now. DiGiovanni said a couple of whales were spotted in waters east of the Shinnecock Nation territory this week and around 10 were seen in waters off Long Beach on Thursday.

"Whale watching crews are going a lot later in the season because we’re seeing them along here," he said. "If there’s food around, there’s good reason for them to stay here ... We are seeing them all along the South Shore. It’s not uncommon."

Likely feeding, the whale appears "to be both healthy and happy" and is "not exhibiting any concerning behavior," according to Clavin.

In the coming days, the whale will journey back into the ocean waters, Weltner said. While he is "concerned" that it must follow the same route, he believes it will make it to the Atlantic.

"Sometimes it’s a little tricky for a big whale to get through a bridge," Weltner said. "It got in, but sometimes it’s a little nervous getting out ... It'll find its way out hopefully. As long as we leave it alone it’ll be fine."