27.05.2023 – Unpredictable
June 5, 2023
World Ocean Day 2023
June 8, 2023
Something unusual happened today. Sargassum muticum, which is also called Japanese brown algae, is a type of brown algae, floated everywhere. Although the sargassum originally came from Japan, it can now also be found in the North Atlantic. It is more than rare off Madeira’s coast. But since the wind is currently blowing from the Southwest, the current will have brought it to us unusually. In Japan it grows up to 3m long, but outside of its natural range it can reach a length of 10-16m. The Sargasso Sea, where today’s brown algae started their journey, lies east of Florida and secular of the Bermuda Islands. So this brown alga has come a long way for us to see it today.
In the morning we saw a school of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), which surrounded our Stenella and made small and large guests happy.
In the afternoon we were surprised by Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris). They are rarely seen off Madeira’s coast. Cuvier’s beaked whales are the experts at deep diving and hold the record for breath-hold among marine mammals. They go to a diving depth of 2000-3000 meters. Their longest recorded dive time is 3 hours 41 minutes. Afterwards we met Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), which, like the Atlantic spotted dolphins, belong to the interactive dolphins.
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Portuguese man-o-war
13:30 Cuvier Beaked whales, Common dolphins
Stenella
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Loggerhead turtle, Portuguese man-o-war
13:30 Cuvier Beaked whales, Common dolphins
