Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises

06/19/2025

🗓️ Species Spotlight Series

🌊 The Bay of Fundy isn’t just famous for the world’s highest tides — it’s also a vital feeding and migration ground for a stunning diversity of cetacean species (that’s whales, dolphins, and porpoises!).

These marine mammals depend on the Bay’s deep channels, strong tidal currents, and nutrient-rich waters. Each year, we welcome several species to these waters, each with its own unique behaviours, adaptations, and conservation stories.

Over the next few posts, we’ll be shining a spotlight on some of the incredible cetaceans found right here in the Bay:

Humpback Whales – Acrobatic giants known for tail slaps, flipper waves, and long migrations

Fin Whales – Sleek and fast, they’re the second-largest animals on Earth

North Atlantic Right Whales – Critically endangered and rarely seen, these whales need our urgent protection

Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins – Social and fast-moving, often seen in large, energetic pods

Harbour Porpoises – Small, shy, and often overlooked — but essential members of our ecosystem

Minke Whales – The smallest of the baleen whales, elusive, quick and curious

👀 Stay tuned as we dive into the lives of these incredible species — their roles in the ecosystem, the threats they face, and how our research helps protect them.

This is what makes the Bay of Fundy so special.
This is why we protect it. 💙

06/18/2025

Cruise Report Mega Nova 1:30 pm departure
Tuesday, June 17 2025

Another beautiful day to watch whales! It was another long cruise for us as the whales continued to stay well offshore. This is typical for early in the season but whales are very unpredictable and can show up close to Brier Island at any time. This is why we tell people that we never know what to expect with sightings. The whales will be where their food is and right now, that's 16 miles away. We are grateful that our guests understand the long trek. They want to see whales and we will try our best to accommodate.

Our zodiac with captain Eddie at the helm, was the first to arrive at the area where we had been seeing humpback whales and he found a few there. It didn't take him as long to get there with the outboard speed but we followed suit and were able to see some whales as well. We were able to identify the 3 humpback whales in the area as Pylon, Photon and Canoe. They were travelling southeast toward Brier Island so we can only hope that they moved a little bit closer to home. Our next cruise will tell the story!

Also sighted on the cruise were Wilson's Storm Petrels, Northern Gannets, a Northern Fulmar and many gray seals.

Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching regulations.

Photographs in this post were cropped and captured with a 100-400 mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to Bay of Fundy Whale Research and Conservation Society, Center for Coastal Studies and Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic.

06/17/2025

June 16, 2025 1:30 Cruise
The whales ae still spending time further offshore than we might hope for but the weather has been staying calm and sunny so the trip across was a pleasant one, if a little chilly.
We are still spotting puffins, to the delight of many guests, and today we were treated to numerous seal sightings as well!
There were a few humpbacks in the area we sailed to and several more a couple of miles off of there. The two we spent time near were Mr. Burns and Scream who were busy hunting food. They would surface, take a few breaths and then dive, often changing directions. They each took a turn surfacing very nearby and we would shut down the Mega Nova until they’d moved away from us allowing our guests to listen to them surfacing and exchanging a breath without the sound of the boat interfering.
When the whales were under we watched numerous grey seals who appeared to be content to lay at the surface while we got a look. Besides puffins, we also got to see juvenile northern gannets, Wilsons storm petrels and a few northern fulmars for the bird enthusiasts aboard.
It was a lovely day on the water with a little something for everyone!

Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching regulations.
Photographs in this post were cropped and captured with a 70-300mm lens.
Data and photos are contributed to Bay fo Fundy Whale Research and Conservation Society, Center for Coastal Studies and Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic.

06/16/2025

Conservation Partner Highlight 🌊

At the Bay of Fundy Whale Research and Conservation Society, we know that protecting whales and preserving their habitat takes teamwork. Today, we're celebrating the incredible organizations we collaborate with — our trusted partners in research, education, and conservation.

🐋 Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises
Our roots begin here. Since the 1980s, Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises has been the foundation for long-term whale research in the Bay of Fundy. Their commitment to ethical, educational whale watching and their deep local knowledge continue to support both our scientific work and public awareness. We’re proud to call them our original partners.

🔬 Center for Coastal Studies
Based in Provincetown, MA, the Center for Coastal Studies is internationally known for its groundbreaking work in whale research, disentanglement, and marine conservation policy. Their influence stretches across the Gulf of Maine, and their collaborations enhance our shared understanding of whale behavior and habitat needs in the Bay of Fundy.

📚 Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic
A cornerstone of North Atlantic humpback whale research, Allied Whale manages one of the world’s largest photo-ID catalogs of individual whales. Their commitment to collaborative science helps inform our work, especially through shared sightings and fluke data — linking our local whales to the broader migratory population.

🦭 Marine Animal Response Society (MARS)
When marine animals are in distress, MARS steps in. This Atlantic Canadian organization leads vital rescue, response, and public education efforts — from entangled whales to stranded porpoises. Their fast action and expertise make them a crucial part of marine protection in the region.

🛥 Quoddy Link Marine
Celebrating 30 years on the water, Quoddy Link Marine brings deep knowledge, experience, and heart to their whale watching tours in St. Andrews, NB. Founded by John and Lisa Eldridge, their team includes biologists and captains with decades of experience, along with passionate science students. Their commitment to sustainable tourism and marine education helps connect thousands to the whales of the Bay.

💙 Together, we’re building a future where whales and their habitats are protected, understood, and celebrated.

06/16/2025

It was was another beautiful day to head out into the Bay of Fundy with blue skies and calm seas. After watching a minke whale on the morning cruise, Captain Roy decided to make the longer cruise this afternoon, returning to the area where we saw humpback whales during yesterday's cruise. It is a long way to that area and we were grateful for everyone's patience. We had location information from our zodiac captain Sean, who had just left the area to return to port having watched whales. We were happy to see 4 different humpback whales and got some great looks at them. We identified three of them and they were Mr. Burns, Solas and Scream. We weren't able to get a look at the fourth individual so no ID was possible.

We also noted numerous grey seals and Atlantic puffins in that area.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watch regulations. Photographs in this post were cropped and captured with a 100-400 mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to Bay of Fundy Whale Research and Conservation Society, Center for Coastal Studies and Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic

06/15/2025

06/15/2025

June 14, 2025

When the crew gathered at the Mega Nova this afternoon, we were excited to get underway on the first trip of our season.

Yesterday, we’d spent the better part of the day on a dedicated research cruise with just our crew onboard. It was a successful trip that saw us recording five humpbacks, including Scream, Solas, Canoe, Mr Burns and Hawksbill. We’ve had a total of three research cruises so far this season and yesterdays was the first where we found humpbacks although we have been spotting minkes fairly regularly. The area were we found our whales is a spot where we know to look when we aren’t recording them closer to the island. It usually takes a couple of hours to get there but it is worth the extra effort for a successful trip.

Today was one of those longer but successful trips! The conditions were near ideal with a flat sea state and not much wind at all. The sky was overcast but we could see little bits of sun trying to peek out from behind the clouds occasionally. The crew kept an eye on the surrounding sea as we made our way across, hoping for a whale sighting closer to home but none were spotted. That’s not to say that there was nothing to see however – for the guests that were hoping to spot a puffin during the trip they had ample opportunity! Throughout the trip across we were seeing little groups of puffins as well as a Minke whale, grey seals and small pods of harbour porpoises. Our zodiac captain, Sean, had set out for the area we were in yesterday and reported that he’d found whales before we were halfway across which was great news!

We were excited to see that our first humpbacks were Hawksbill and Photon. They dove often giving our guests lots of opportunity for fluke shots but they also surfaced nearby allowing us some great looks at them and a real sense of how large and incredible these whales are. Captain Roy was very happy to spot his favourite humpback, Patchwork, as well during this first trip and we had a good look at another one who never brought its tail out of the water when it dove. Photographer April got some great shots of a couple of the dorsal fins that were not far from us for Chief Naturalist Shelley to identify later and we were happy to see even more humpbacks further in the distance!

Its shaping up to be a wonderful season and we’re looking forward to recording as many whales as we can as well as meeting new guests and greeting returning ones!

Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos in this post were cropped and taken with a 70-300mm lens.
Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs. We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to HappyWhale.com

06/08/2025

🌍 Happy World Oceans Day — a moment to honour the lifeblood of our planet. The ocean covers more than 70% of Earth’s surface, produces over half the oxygen we breathe, and supports an incredible range of life, from microscopic plankton to the largest animals to ever live — whales. 🐋

Here in the Bay of Fundy, we’re proud to call one of the ocean’s richest ecosystems our home. With the highest tides on Earth and a powerful nutrient flow, this region attracts over a dozen species of whales each year, including humpbacks, fin whales, and the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

At the Bay of Fundy Whale Research and Conservation Society, we’re committed to protecting these incredible animals through scientific research, public education, and hands-on response to threats like entanglement.

This World Oceans Day, let’s celebrate what connects us all — and recommit to protecting the ocean for future generations. 🌊💙

📸: A breaching humpback off the coast of Brier Island — one of many reasons we do what we do.

06/08/2025

Happy World Ocean’s Day!

06/06/2025

We are very proud to be charter members of this newly formed organization.

Join us in conserving the Bay of Fundy's marine life.

05/11/2025

Happy Mother's Day!