TWO rare marine visitors spotted in Jersey’s waters this summer could have been here chasing prey or because of warming seas, according to an expert.
But Chris Isaacs said that the small number of whale sightings meant it was too early to ‘form conclusions’. A fin whale was seen off the coast of the Island this month, which followed two humpback sightings in July.
Fin whales – the second-largest cetacean after blue whales – are rarely spotted across the world, while the first recorded humpback sighting in Jersey only took place in 2017.
Mr Isaacs, a marine expert with the Société Jersiaise and member of the government’s Natural Environment team, said: ‘An increase in sightings of a species which is normally rare in our waters could be linked to changes in the environment, but a small number of sightings doesn’t provide enough information to form conclusions.
‘Even when the numbers are high it can still be difficult to pin down why a species has turned up in higher numbers.’
He added: ‘Climate change should always be placed near the top of the list of potential culprits. However, we need to be careful we don’t undermine the science by trying to link every change in the environment which we don’t understand to climate change.’
Mr Isaacs said that marine predators were also ‘known to respond to changes in the distribution of prey species’.
‘They may not respond directly to warming seas, but they could be following prey species which are responding [to climate change],’ he added.
