POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Boaters in South Florida experience whale sightings during the holiday weekend.
“It was a slick, calm day. Perfect slicker. Rare so it was cool to see,” said Colton Richardson, who spotted a whale.
A whale off the coast of Fort Lauderdale was spotted by excited boaters.
“Yaay,” said the boaters.
This sighting wasn’t the only one on Memorial Day. Capt Eddy Reyes, off the coast of Miami, spotted a whale as well.
“All of a sudden I saw a blowhole and it was impressive,” he said. “And then the next thing you notice that, there was another pod further away and another one further away, so I was in the middle of three.”
Experts who’ve seen these videos said these are all sperm whales, whose numbers were nearly decimated through the 1980’s.
The numbers are recovering, but they’re still considered endangered.
A whale believed to be a humpback, along with her calf, was spotted by boaters off Hollywood back in February. Most likely migrating to warmer waters south.
Encounters with nature boaters said they do not take these sightings for granted.
“It’s kind of funny, you’re looking for fish to catch, not these huge beats out there. So it was impressive,” said Reyes.
“He [whale] was hanging out. He was cruising and I had four. There were four or five other boats that were also coming back from the Bahamas that saw him as well. Showing everybody the show,” said Richardson.
Now the group Ocean Conservancy said there are about 300,000 sperm whales in the wild. They’re protected in U.S. waters by federal law.
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