Recent News
Fishermen split by reef predator reportThursday, May 11, 2017
The surest way to secure Bermuda’s reef fishing industry is to impose further restrictions and a ban on the sale of certain species according to lifelong fisherman Alan Card.
Rescue plan could stress out turtles
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
A plan to relocate sea turtles in advance of the America’s Cup has sparked concerns from environmentalists about the impact on the animals’ health.
Greenrock On Relocation Plan For Sea Turtles
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
“Greenrock was surprised by the announcement to capture and relocate sea turtles from the Great Sound for May and June, it is certainly an interesting initiative, and one that raises some questions for consideration,” Greenrock Executive Director Jonathan Starling said.
Great Sound turtles ‘moving home’ for Cup
Monday, May 08, 2017
Sea turtles are being temporarily relocated from the Great Sound to keep them out of harm’s way during the America’s Cup.
Sea Turtles Being ‘Temporarily Relocated’
Sunday, May 07, 2017
[Updated] In “anticipation of intense boating activity in the Great Sound,” the America’s Cup Bermuda is “coordinating a temporary sea turtle relocation project,” in which “sea turtles will be netted based on methods used successfully for turtle tagging operations and temporarily relocated inside a purpose-built ocean enclosure” near the Aquarium in Flatts.
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Latest News
All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
Kevin Smith, Social Media Editor
Published Apr 7, 2018 at 8:00 am (Updated Apr 6, 2018 at 11:53 pm)
Two film-makers spotted a massive pod of whales off the coast of Bermuda.
Conor Outerbridge and Adam Johnson were out on the water to film humpback whales for their company when they came across the ten-strong group two miles off South West Breaker.
Mr Outerbridge told The Royal Gazette: “This is the first time I’ve seen ten whales at once. They do travel in a pod of ten, but I’ve just never seen it.
“In Bermuda, you always see a pod of two or three or like four if you’re lucky. Normally they’re spread out; normally you don’t see pods of ten whales.”
Mr Outerbridge, a professional photographer and videographer, has filmed whales five times.
A humpback about two miles off shore (Photograph by Conor Outerbridge)
The two were shooting video for their company, Marooned Clothing, a range with an environmental twist which also aims “to promote the protection of the ocean and cleaning up trash around Bermuda”.
Co-founder Mr Johnson said: “The whole concept is starting something in Bermuda, mainly promoting ocean awareness and to get the younger generation interested in protecting the ocean.”
However, Andrew Stevenson, who has been studying whales in Bermuda for 12 years, said a pod of ten humpback whales in these waters was not unusual.
Mr Stevenson, principal investigator for the Humpback Whale Project, which is backed by the Bermuda Zoological Society, said: “I see groups of 16, 14, seven, eight, nine.”
The pod of humpbacks about two miles off shore (Photograph by Conor Outerbridge)
“Yesterday was the biggest, there must have 25 whales and they’re closely packed together.”
He explained that whales in these groupings are “usually a female with a bunch of males competing for her attention” which are known as “rowdy groups”.
He added: “Sometimes it’s pretty relaxed, and sometimes, like yesterday, it’s very heated.It’s a lot of shoving and pushing and barging and hitting.
“It’s a competitive group, they’re trying to vie for the attention of the female but I’m not really sure why they’re doing it at this time of the year because it’s too late for the female to breed.”