- December 16, 2025
With the quickly rising sea surface temperatures, the 2011 whale-watching season may be drawing to a close.
Whale sightings have diminished over the two last weeks and when they are sighted, the whales are mostly offshore and out of sight of land. Surprises remain, however.
On Tuesday, February 22, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s aerial survey team sighted a mother-calf pair 6.4 miles northeast of St. Augustine. It was the 17th pair sighting for the season.
The Marineland Right Whale Project’s acoustic sampling boat, which was on the water that day, received the whales’ location from the FWC team. As the winds calmed and the sun brightened, the curious calf and its mother came by for a close approach. The team recorded and photographed this pair over the course of the afternoon.
