Summer 2016 an 'exceptional' year for biodiversity in St. Lawrence River

A Quebec marine biologist says this summer was "exceptional"when it comes to the diversity of species spotted in the St. Lawrence River.

Lyne Morissettesaid the most noticeable new visitors were whales since last year,North Atlanticright whales, the most endangered whale in the world, have been making appearances from theGulf of the St. Lawrence all the way to Tadoussac.

Also this summer, a narwhal was spotted near Trois-Pistoles. Dubbed the unicorn of the sea, narwhals look like beluga whales, but maleshave longtusks thatgrowright through theirupper lip.

Morissette said the narwhals are usually found in the Arctic, making the sighting "quite unusual."

And with the proliferation of cell phones and social media, the stars of the St. Lawrence are getting much more airtime, Morissette said, mentioning the French tourists that had a close encounter with a finback whale earlier this month.

Whale close encounter in Tadoussac

8 years ago

Duration 0:36

Whale watchers in Tadoussac got way closer to the sea mammal than they expected.

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Not just whales, fish sightings up too

Morissettesaid observers have spotted morecapelin than in summers past. Capelin are small fish that serve animportant role in the ecosystem, feeding whales, seals, cod andsea birds.

She said in some placesoff the Gasp coast, there are so many capelin that if you take a bucket out into one foot of water, you could catch a few.

There have also been more sightingsof sunfish, which Morissette described as"a big plate that swims in the ocean."

She said the fish areusually seen in warmer watersfurther south of Quebec,off the coast ofBoston andLouisiana, so their appearance in the St. Lawrence is "definitely a sign of changes in our environment."

Warmer water leads to changes

There's no way to know for sure why the fish and whales are migrating to the St. Lawrence, butMorissette said the area is a great habitat for right whales.

"Maybe they found something here that is suitable for them. Less threats, more food, we don't know for sure," she said.

One explanation could be the warmer water the water temperature isabout two degrees higher than it was a decade ago, she said.

"All species will adapt to that, either physically [to]be able to live in the warmer environment, or they'll move somewhere else" and be replaced by warm-water species moving north,she said.

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Sunfish, for example,eatjellyfish, whichcan adapt quickly to rising water temperatures.Morissettesaid it's possible there are more jellyfish in the St. Lawrence these days, and the sunfish are followingtheir food north.

While we all need to be cautious about the warmer water, Morissette said she's excited that more people are taking an interest in the river.

"[Oceanographer]Jacques Cousteau said we protect what we love and we love what we know, and the best way to know things is to go at sea and live the St. Lawrence," she said.