Trip report and whale lice Humpback today

whale watching report 8/12/2020

Well today was interesting all of a sudden it started pouring rain in Monmouth county for 1 hour but we were able to have a nice day whale watching after the rain.We did not get rain on, some people rescheduled to future dates but for many this was there day and they wanted to go so when the captain said it was safe We only left the dock 20 mins late!

We had some children all related on the boat and we let them throw fish bait to the seagulls, they loved it !

Wednesday a large summer rain shower with pouring rain hit the marina right about the time I was getting there to start boarding the boat so we had about an hours worth of rain 74 goals from customers calling repeated times asking what are we doing are we going to go and we kept those like we think it’s going to pass just stay in the cars we’re going to go whale watching so it was an interesting fun time getting ready I know we lost a lot of people who decided not to wait it out but the people who really wanted to go and have the patience to just wait till the storm pass we had a beautiful day on the ocean not one drop of rain once we left the dock. The ocean was flat calm one of the Thomas days I’ve heard all summer there was a little bit of fog that made some of the directions hard to see if there’s a whale or a spell because that’s what we’re looking for is a spot of water coming out when the whale comes up to breathe.

All of a sudden like out of a movie the whale appears directly in front of the boat just 100 yards away myself and Danielle our naturalist. We were amazed, here we were looking in every direction and all of a sudden there is a whale is off the coast of Sea bright Sandy Hook area.

We also saw a small school of dolphins which people on the boat really enjoyed seeing they were close they got some great photos and there was lots of bait fish all around we expectedTo see more than one well but we were happy to everybody got to see one. The way it wasn’t the most active we’ve seen this season but what are you gonna do it was still beautiful people love seeing it and they are now part of the 1% of the people in the world Who have seen a whirl living essential habitat off the Jersey shore. Come join us soon it’s safe family fun bring your mask you’ll enjoy it I promise you you will forget about covert 19 at least for a few hours if you forget to have your mask on when you can about the boat we will remind you about cover 19 and ask you to put it back on you don’t need to where you met while you’re seated in the comfortable seats which are outdoors on the side of the boat bench seating just taking of use the fresh air seeing the ocean in the beautiful homes along the Jersey shore it’s an amazing trip we have a great crew you really enjoy.

A whale louse is a commensal crustacean of the family Cyamidae. Despite the name, they are not true lice (which are insects), but rather are related to the skeleton shrimp, most species of which are found in shallower waters. Whale lice are external parasites, found in skin lesions, genital folds, nostrils and eyes of marine mammals of the order Cetacea. These include not only whales but also dolphins and porpoises

Most species of whale lice are associated with a single species of whale. They remain with their host throughout their development and do not experience a free-swimming phase.^[1] Although the relationship between a specific species of whale louse and a specific species of whale is more pronounced with baleen whales than with toothed whales, almost every species of whale has a louse species that is unique to it. With the sperm whale, the parasitic relationship is sex-specific. The whale louse Cyamus catodontis lives exclusively on the skin of the male, while Neocyamus physeteris is found only on females and calves.^[2]

Whale lice attach themselves to the host body in places that protect them from water currents, so they can be found in natural body openings and in wounds; with baleen whales they are found primarily on the head and in the ventral pleats. Around 7,500 whale lice live on a single whale.^[3]

With some species of whale lice, whale barnacle infestations play an important role. On the right whale, the parasites live mainly on callosities (raised callus-like patches of skin on the whales’ heads). The clusters of white lice contrast with the dark skin of the whale, and help researchers identify individual whales because of the lice clusters’ unique shapes.

The lice predominantly eat algae that settle on the host’s body. They usually feed off the flaking skin of the host and frequent wounds or open areas. They cause minor skin damage, but this does not lead to significant illness.

The development of the whale louse is closely connected with the life pattern of whales. The distribution of various lice species reflects migratory patterns.