THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502090444
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
The whales apparently love us as much as we love them.
Due to the popularity of whale watching and to the abundance of humpback whales in our waters, the Virginia Marine Science Museum has extended its whale-watching boat excursions by one week, through Feb. 27.
``The whales are still here, and they're having a good time,'' said Mindy L. Hughes, museum spokeswoman.
So are the whale watchers. About 2,000 people have signed up for cruises this weekend from Friday through Monday.
Whales have been spotted on 77 percent of the two-hour boat trips, which began in mid-January. But in the past week and a half, whales have been sighted on nearly every trip.
``The interest in this program is just tremendous,'' Hughes said.
The museum, which is chartering boats out of Rudee Inlet, has taken 8,192 people whale watching since Jan. 13.
``The Virginia Marine Science Museum is delighted to use whale watching as a means of teaching people about the nature and needs of marine mammals in Virginia's marine environment,'' said C. Mac Rawls, museum director.
This mutual love affair has been a boon to the sluggish winter tourism industry. About 40 percent of whale watchers have been from outside the region. They're coming from as far away as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and even Washington state.
A dozen resort-area hotels offer package deals that include the whale-watching trip, admission to the Virginia Marine Science Museum and an educational program on whales at the museum.
One Nebraska woman and her family won an all-expenses-paid trip to anywhere in the continental United States through her job in Bally, Neb. They chose, at the urging of their 10-year-old daughter, to come to Virginia Beach to go whale watching.
They came, but they were among the few who saw no whales.
While the odds are good that a whale will be spotted, the museum cannot guarantee it.
The whales being seen apparently are not the same ones that have visited the Virginia Beach coast for the past three to four years.
Researchers from the museum's Stranding Program have been photographing the whales and observing their behavior from the whale-watching boats. Eight individual whales have been identified this winter, and all appear to be newcomers to Virginia Beach waters.
While they cannot speculate on numbers, the researchers believe more whales live here than they've been able to catch on film.
In addition to the endangered humpbacks, fin whales (the second-largest whale in the world and a more common species than the humpback) have been sighted, as well as harbor porpoises and a dolphin. Dolphins are not common here in the winter because the water is too cold for their taste, but they are plentiful in the summer.
It's only a recent phenomenon that whales have wintered in Virginia Beach. Before humpbacks were first sighted here in 1991, they were believed to be spending their winters in the Caribbean.
The whales spending time here are young, under 5 years old, and not yet sexually mature. Researchers believe that the juveniles are here to feed off the abundant bay anchovies in our waters. The population may be recovering in the wake of whale-protection laws, forcing some whales to seek additional food sources. MEMO: AT A GLANCE
Virginia Marine Science Museum whale-watching trips take place Friday
through Monday, through Feb. 27. Departure times vary. The two-hour
cruises leave from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Rudee Inlet. The
cost is $12 for adults and $10 for children 11 and younger. For
information and reservations, call 437-4949. Private charters are
available for school groups and tours. by CNB