A rare humpback whale was spotted off the British coast of Kent, according to the BBC. The sighting was reported to the Kent Dolphin Project, which solicits local footage of whales, porpoises, and dolphins to monitor population health.
Volunteers were quite excited by the find. Humpback whales were previously endangered, but conservation efforts have helped populations rebound. There have been other recent sightings of humpbacks in Cornwall and Sussex.
Humpback whales serve a vital purpose in oceanic ecosystems. As predators, they keep prey populations like krill in check. The waste they produce feeds phytoplankton, which serve a vital role in sequestering carbon.
Whales themselves are so massive that their bodies sequester a significant amount of carbon. That carbon can stay locked below the waves when they die and sink to the ocean floor.
While the sighting is good news, some threats linger. Ghost netting continues to be a threat to humpbacks in the area. Warming surface temperatures are disorienting them. Ship strikes cause a lot of harm. The Kent Wildlife Trust is using the fresh sighting to fight plans to install new undersea cabling.
The Sea Link project will, on the one hand, help transmit low-emission energy from production to the British public. Similar UK projects have aimed to connect growing wind power to the grid. On the other hand, the cables may interfere with wildlife such as humpback whales and dolphins that traverse the area.
Activists remained excited about the sighting of the humpback whale in Kent. It could prove the growing health of the lengthy Atlantic migration routes.
"This is a really exciting spot," said Max Renton from Adonis Blue Environmental Consultants on the footage. "While it's not yet possible to confirm whether these are the same individuals, sightings like these highlight the importance of ongoing efforts to understand and protect our marine life."
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