On a day tailor-made for sea shanties, the sun tiptoed across the choppy Atlantic, lighting up the coastlines of Newfoundland and Labrador. Out there—where the mist hangs like a net and capelin bubble in the surf—Joe emerges time and again, carving his own kind of legend into our cold northern seas.

Back in August of 2013, folks near Witless Bay caught a mighty sight: Joe, a hefty fellow, arced his gleaming back through the rolling blue, as puffins gossiped overhead. For a while, he was only a memory, drifting just out of reach like so many tales swapped by folks over a hot mug of tea.

It wasn’t until six summers later, in 2019, that Joe was seen again, this time gliding through bonny Trinity Bay. Could be he fancied a new patch of herring, or maybe he just likes to keep us guessing. Come 2020, Joe made quite a wave, showing up off Spaniards Cove, then leaping between Trinity Bight, English Harbour, and Bonaventure Head—all within one tide-turning week. Seems like he had places to be and no time to dawdle.

The years rolled on. More recently, Joe’s been living up to his nickname for ‘roamin’—there’s a 2023 sighting in Duntara, then back to his old stomping grounds in Trinity Bay. By 2024, he’d made headlines among those watching the water: showing off at St. John’s and Bay Bulls, ducking behind Tinker’s Point, and popping up near Green Island as the seabirds cheered him along.