Blue whales did not show up in consistent numbers in the St Lawrence in 2011. In addition, the few that did venture into these waters passed through quickly, perhaps not finding enough krill to merit more attention. The St. Lawrence was, however, filled with ravenous bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus). This species has been found here in other years and 15yrs...
In August of 2002 Christian and myself were carrying out our annual blue whale survey in the estuary where we had been infirmed that amongst the blue whales present was the unique-looking female Chameau accompanied by a calf. After a few days on the water we found her and calf near les Escoumins. The calf was quite small for this...
After slowly moving eastward along the north shore of Anticosti Island over the past few weeks, the humpack whales have now changed direction. Three of our boats recently covered more than 800 Km in one day, finally finding 15 Humpacks on Banc Parent, just west of Anticosti. However, the fin whales have vanished except one that was seen in the area...
MICS is one of five charitable wildlife organizations participating in the Call for the Wild campaign of Jamieson Laboratories, a leading natural health product provider. The campaign lasts from August 16 to September 18 and Jamieson Laboratories will donate a total of 100,000 $ among the 5 NGOs. How much MICS will receive depends entirely on you! Everyone can vote...
Monday August 1st, even though the weather forecast predicted a short day at sea, we still offered tourists to come out with us. Rafale and Mistral left the dock at around 7:30am and went between Grande-Île and les Îles à Bouleaux. While crossing in between the islands, we encountered a thick fog. Mistral’s crew lost sight of Rafale, who was only a...
After weeks of few sightings we finally found some whales! On July 8th the weather held up enough for 3 boats to go out to work with the whales. Rafale headed southwest early in the morning, while Mistral and Sirocco headed east to cover as much area as possible. A bit of an overcast, but bright morning gave way to...
When we arrived at the dock after a pleasant day on the water July 14th, we were delighted to meet the Pakea Bizkaia Basque sailing team. We immediately recognized the marine paintings which decorate the hull of the 20m Challenger 67 sailing boat. After a sporty career travelling over 80,000 miles, Pakea Bizkaia has embarked on a socio-educational program. The...
The Mingan Island Cetacean Study is holding a photography exhibit at the Aquilon room of the Louis Ange Santerre library in Sept-Iles. From the Sea of Cortez to the Gulf of St Laurent, from the leatherback turtle to the blue whale, come and join us from June 4th until July 7th to share a series of 28 pictures from our...
Our 33 season has started well with some wonderful outings that included encounters with fin whales, humpback whales, minke whales, a few different seals and various seabirds. We arrived in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan (near the 50th parallel) at the beginning of June where the nights were chilly and small patches of snow still remained in the surrounding forest. Part of the fleet...
The 2011 season is now well under way. Here we want to introduce some of our ongoing and new research projects. In our 33rd season we continue to monitor the local population of humpback, fin and minke whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. MICS is also the curator of the North Atlantic blue whale catalogue and our associated long-term...
You know Richard-cetologist-, but do you know Richard the musician and his guitars. Those who have worked in Mingan with Richard will remember improvised solo concerts in the museum, where agile fingers made guitar strings vibrate in all manner of ways. And you may have experienced the resonance of carefully chosen blues/rock bands and music tracks to celebrate the station's...
