WHALE IDENTIFICATION - BONAVISTA & TRINITY BAYS, NEWFOUNDLAND

Welcome to this website established in June 2006. We hope that you find the content interesting as well as educational and that you may be able to contribute to the records. 

Newfoundland and Labrador ‘joined’ Canada in 1949 (although Newfoundlanders may say that they allowed Canada to join them!) and is the most Easterly province. Newfoundland is a substantial island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and it is believed was discovered by explorers from Northern Europe over 1,000 years ago. Perhaps the most universally well-known explorer to land in Newfoundland was John Cabot and, although there is no exact knowledge of his landing place in 1497, many people believe that it was at, or near, the town of Bonavista.

The whale photographs and images to be found on this site have been taken around the Bonavista peninsula. There are many other places on the island (including the capital, St. Johns, Bay Bulls/the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve - all on the east coast) from where whale, dolphin and sea bird watching trips can be taken.

Wherever you go, you will find Newfoundlanders fiercely proud of their rich heritage, they have a genuine reputation for being warm, hospitable, friendly and witty. Newfoundland is a province rich in rugged scenery, ponds (lakes) and rivers, and surrounded by an ocean with abundant sea-life. It is a 'must' place to visit although it’s many and various attributes are better covered in other websites - a good place to start is that of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (http://www.gov.nf.ca).

The object of this website is to establish and develop an ongoing record of the great whales, particularly humpbacks, which pass by Newfoundland on their annual feeding journeys each Spring and Summer. A fully comprehensive record may be ambitious but "the longest journey starts with the smallest step"!  We did not establish this website to ‘compete’ in any way, with any other site or record maintained by any other person or organisation.  We do not aim to cover the sum total of human knowledge concerning the types of whale featured here as there are many other established websites on 'The Net' providing comprehensive information. You could try, for example:

http://www.oceanicresearch.org

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whale

http://www.wdcs.org  is the website of The Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society, established in 1987and probably the world's most active charity dedicated to the conservation and welfare of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

We found the following quote from Roger Payne's excellent book "Among Whales", published around 1995, summarises our feelings too:

"With size comes tranquility.  For a whale, a passing thunderstorm is but a footfall of an ant, and a full gale an annoying, jiggling of its pleasant bed.  If you were a whale, all but the grandest things would pass beneath your notice.  As the largest animal, including the biggest dinosaur, that has ever lived on earth you could afford to be gentle, to view life without fear, to play in the dark, to sleep soundly anywhere, wherever and however long you liked, and to greet the world in peace – even to view with bemused curiosity something as weird as a human scuba diver as it bubbles away, encased in all that bizarre gear. It is this sense of tranquility – of life without urgency, power without aggression – that has won my heart to whales" 

Please use one of the following buttons to find details of the particular whales shown :-

Please note that all photographs appearing on this site appear here by the generosity, enthusiasm and skill of the individual photographers. No payment has been made by us to them and their photographs remain the exclusive copyright of the specific photographer named. Thanks are also due to a true Newfoundlander, Kris Prince, for his generosity, skill and knowledge. We gratefully thank 'The Packet' newspaper for their interest in our whale work and for their large article about us in their edition of Peninsula News dated January 7, 2010.

Latest news: Plenty of fin whales and humpbacks (many that we have not recorded before) seen around the Peninsula in July/August 2011 and 5 sperm whales new to us.

We hope that you enjoy our site - and maybe we'll meet in Newfoundland some summertime!

Shawna Prince                        Reg Kempen

Oh, in case you were wondering, this is who we are -

Hi, I'm Shawna Prince and am pleased that you have shown an interest in whales and the work that we are doing with them here, around the Bonavista peninsula.  I am a fairly late bloomer as far as whales go as  I did not see my first whale until 1999 when I took a summer job with a Trinity Bay whale research organisation in Newfoundland.  I have a great appreciation and interest for all species of whales, however, it was during the 1999 summer that I saw my first fin whale surface and I will never forget it. The water was so clear and I could see the entire animal, at least 3 times the length of our boat.  It was such a humbling and amazing encounter and since then I have had a particular fondness for these whales..

Following my experience in 1999, I finished my B. Sc. at Acadia University, Nova Scotia  After a brief stint working for the Bay of Fundy Marine Resource Centre in N.S., I returned to school at Memorial University of Newfoundland where I received a Master of Environmental Science in 2002 and a Bachelor of Education in 2005.   I have the twin advantage of  whale work in the summer and teaching high school science in the winter.  This will be my tenth season working with, and researching, whales but my first as the co-owner of a business (Prince of Whales Adventures) with my husband Kris. We have invested in all new equipment and look forward to a successful 'first year' increasing our clients knowledge of the whales we get in Trinity and Bonavista Bays. Now for the commercial! - you can find us on the Internet at www.seaofwhales.com or by telephone on 1-709-427-4352 or 1-709-427-1217 if you would like to book a trip. Hope to see you (again) soon!

Hi, I’m Reg Kempen, easily recognisable as the less attractive, and more ancient, one here!!. I don't have any degrees in marine biology (having spent much of my working life in the UK banking industry), but have been using cameras most of my life. When I saw my first humpback surface in the Bay of Fundy, off Brier Island, Nova Scotia in the summer of 1993, I became ‘hooked’ on these majestic creatures and the other great whales too.  I eventually found my way to the Bonavista peninsula in Newfoundland and it was everything I had been looking for - plenty of whales of several types during the summer months, wonderful, rugged coastal scenery and great people. I now spend at least 2 months of the year in the area either using my own boat or joining one of Shawna & Kris' excellent trips in Trinity or Bonavista Bay.

Given the vast amounts of money spent by governments across the globe on space exploration and trying to find life on other planets, it is staggering how little the human race knows about the creatures in our own oceans which form over 70% of the Earth's surface. If we can make any contribution, however small, to rectify this lack of knowledge of these 'gentle giants', our time will have been well spent. Personally, I want to ensure that my 3 granddaughters get the chances that I have been given of studying them.

Unfortunately, due to a bad knee injury, I will not be on the Peninsula during Summer 2011 - here's to 2012!

© Whale Identification, Bonavista & Trinity Bays, Newfoundland (Unless stated otherwise)