One radio call from the Coast Guard noted the incident took place around 7:45 a.m. local time, and urged other nearby vessels to be aware of the situation.
“There is a pissed off whale patrolling the waters of Portsmouth NH today. Head on swivel if you’re out there,” former NHL player Ryan Whitney wrote in an X post alongside the video footage.
The fishermen from the boat were rescued by nearby boaters. @ryanwhitney6 / X
Experts, however, said the incident was merely a coincidence — and had nothing to do with the whale’s attitude.
“It was an accident,” Dianna Schulte, co-founder and director of research for the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, told The Post Tuesday.
“The whales will come up through schools of fish with their mouth wide open and close their mouth, either right before they break the surface or even after they break the surface,” she explained — adding that the fishermen “should have known better” than to fish with a large whale in the area.
The incident had nothing to do with the whale’s attitude, one expert said. @ryanwhitney6 / X
She counseled boaters to give humpbacks 100 yards of personal space during mealtimes.
The young whale is the first of its kind to feast in the shallow waters of the Piscataqua River.
They may have been drawn to the area in search of its plentiful Atlantic menhaden, which is a favorite among whales, dolphins and sharks, Schulte said.
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