Watching the rare northern right whale in Monterey Bay

MONTEREY, CA (KION-TV). A rare North Pacific right whale was spotted in Monterey Bay Sunday morning.

The sighting occurred around 9:25 a.m. on the Monterey Bay Whale Watch boat. Marine biologist Dane McDermott was on board when the sightings took place.

McDermott told KION that the whale was swimming back north when he took photos of the whale emerging from the water. McDermott said anyone on the boat with him could tell it was a whale from the North Pacific because of patches of rough skin called calluses.

Calluses can be located on the head, above the eyes and around the mouth.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a total of 32 Pacific right whales swim along the Pacific coast.

The North Pacific right whale has distinctive features that distinguish it from gray whales. Colleen Talty, a marine biologist at Monterey Bay Whale Watch, says the right whale has a V-shaped bump, calluses on its head and distinct pectoral fins.

NOAA reports that right whales have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1970. The whales have been affected by climate change and have become entangled in fishing gear and marine debris.

Their diet mainly consists of zooplankton, which also includes copepods, euphausiids, and cyprids.

The Monterey Bay Whale Watch said this was the first sighting of a Pacific right whale since they began searching in 1997.