The New England are has noticed a spike in humpback whale sightings.
On Wednesday 40 whales were seen over a two-hour boat ride in off Stellwagen Bank, the Boston Globe reported.
"The past few weeks have been exceptional," Laura Howes, director of marine education and conservation for whale watch trips run by Boston Harbor Cruises, told the Boston Globe.
There has also been an increase in sand lance, which are a primary food source for humpback whales. These oily fish were not seen in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary last year for unknown reasons.
Stellwagen Bank is an excellent spot for sand lance because of its shallow waters, and hungry humpback whales regularly take advantage of this.
Researchers are now looking into what causes the mysterious fluctuations of sand lance populations.
"That's one of the big mysteries," David Wiley, research coordinator at the sanctuary, told the Boston Globe. "We really don't know."
The researchers believed to increase in whale sightings are linked to the influx of sand lance.
"That's mostly what drives the distribution," Jesus Pineda, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told the Boston Globe. "You will find very few whales where there are no sand lance."
If the sand lance are not present in the region it will force humpback whales to look elsewhere for their meal.
"I think that's part of the story," Pineda said.
On a recent whale watching tour in Providence 12 humpback whales were spotted by a group of schoolchildren ; A Gloucester boat saw 15 whales and a breaching calf.
"People are blown away," Jim Douglass of Cape Ann Whale Watch in Gloucester told the Boston Globe. "It's been great."
Douglass believes the incredible sightings are all thanks to the sand lance.
"That's what makes the whales happy," he said. "And that makes us happy."
