QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - Two fishermen in Boston Harbor were startled Monday when a whale breached the water’s surface nearby.
Jared Hannigan and his fishing buddy left Marina Bay in Quincy looking for fish, but what they saw was much bigger than anything they could fix in an icebox.
“I thought a boat maybe capsized, I see this explosion and we noticed it was a whale. Just saw the back fin of it,” Hannigan said.
Hannigan said he’s been fishing the harbor for years, but he’s never encountered a whale up close.
“He was turning, he was just slapping his tail, he was waving his fin, it was like he was putting on a show out there. It was unbelievable,” he said. “I completely forgot I was fishing and my heart was just pumping.”
Monday’s sighting was one of many recent whale encounters off the coast of New England. Last month, a breaching whale took out a boat off the coast of New Hampshire. In July, a group spotted a blue whale off Gloucester.
“That first video, when it shot up, I didn’t want to end up like those guys up north when it landed on the boat, I’ll tell you that,” Hannigan said.
Hannigan had some advice for anyone hitting the harbor hoping to get a glimpse of a whale.
“It’s exciting, but you’ve got to remember — this is the whales’ world, we’re in their bedroom right now. You have to be respectful and give enough space,” he said.
Hannigan and other boaters said the whale put on a show in the harbor for over an hour.
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