Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) : Gulf of Maine stock

Abstract

Humpback whales occur worldwide and migrate seasonally from high latitude subarctic and temperate summering areas to low latitude subtropical and tropical wintering areas. Three subspecies are recognized globally (North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Hemisphere), based on restricted gene flow between ocean basins (Jackson et al., 2014). The North Atlantic subspecies (Megaptera n. novaeangliae) occurs basin wide. In the western North Atlantic, humpback whales feed during spring, summer and fall over a geographic range encompassing the eastern coast of the United States (including the Gulf of Maine), the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland/Labrador, and western Greenland (Katona & Beard, 1990).