Hello Humpback
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Joe

Some whales follow well-worn routes, almost as if they can’t help returning to familiar waters. Joe is one of those travellers—a humpback who never strays too far from the rugged coastline and sheltered bays of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He surfaced for the first recorded time in August 2013, just off Witless Bay, where the sea fills with the shouts of seabirds and the splash of capelin. Maybe Joe learned early that these waters, with their mix of rocky outcrops and narrow coves, held good feeding grounds.

For a few quiet years, Joe slipped out of sight. Whatever path he took between Unseen and Seen, he turned up again in July 2019, this time up to a mile off the length of Horsechops. A month later, he was making his presence known in the wide arms of Trinity Bay—a place where humpbacks chase capelin and fishing boats share the water with giants.

The summer of 2020 was busy. Sightings stack up: off Spaniards Cove, the open water near Trinity, scattered points through Trinity Bight, then east of Trinity, by English Harbour, and again near Bonaventure Head. Joe seemed restless, as if exploring every angle of the bay, sampling its riches and perhaps meeting up with other whales traveling similar paths.

In recent years, Joe showed the same pattern—surfacing around Duntara, Trinity Bay, St. John’s, Bay Bulls, and southwest of Green Island. He’s a male who sticks to the well-known haunts, rarely venturing far from Newfoundland and Labrador’s bustling summer coast.

Have you seen Joe—exploring the capelin-filled bays or passing the rocky headlands? Every sighting adds a piece to his story and helps researchers follow the movements of these incredible whales. If you spot Joe, submit your sighting to help citizen science thrive.

Fun Fact

During their summer feeding season, a humpback whale can eat over one tonne of fish and krill every day. No wonder they have the energy for such epic journeys.

Joe’s Sightings

Witless Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

August 7, 2013

Up to a mile off Horsechops, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

July 12, 2019

Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

August 17, 2019

Off Spaniards Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

July 23, 2020

This is Happywhale's real data for this whale. The story above was generated based on these details, and a few creative assumptions.

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Submit your photo to help advance ocean science.

By submitting to Happywhale, your sighting can become part of Joe's data. Not only will it make their story richer for the next time they're spotted, but you'll become part of a global citizen science effort to better understand our oceans and the humpback whales that call them home.