- That's Osama Bin Laden swimming
and Jaws is about to consume him.
The penis bone from a walrus.
That is my painting. - Wow.
- I would say it's a humpback whale.
Once people know you're involved in whales
they tend to give you whale things.
Some day I would love to be able to
do a searchlight with the Gotham Whale sign into the sky.
Yes, I am Whaleman.
(playful music)
- [Narrator] Paul Sieswerda, or Whaleman,
is the founder of Gotham Whale,
a non-profit dedicated to studying
the surprising resurgence of whales
in New York City's harbor.
While that resurgence is recent,
Paul's fascination with whales began long ago.
- The year was 1969.
I was literally struck by Jacques Cousteau
saying I gotta get involved in the oceans.
It was an era of exploration,
both astronauts and the aquanauts.
So there was a lot of buzz about exploration,
and I wanted to be part of that.
We're advocating for the whales
that are coming back to New York City.
It's just a phenomenal, brand new occurrence
for these whales to come to this area
so they need to be protected.
- [Narrator] Whales used to thrive in the waters
outside of New York City.
In the 1700s, they were featured prominently
in maps and drawings,
but since then the original humpback whale population
was reduced by 95 percent due to hunting and pollution.
- So these whales are returning
because they are now protected in our waters.
They're also returning because our waters right now
are cleaner than they've been in decades.
- That first year we had three sightings
with a total of five whales.
That was for the entire summer season.
But the numbers are at like 270 sightings
and 290 whales last year,
and that number is going to be much bigger this year.
- Tail-slapping humpback whale, 12 o'clock.
(playful music)
- [Narrator] At the heart of Gotham Whales'
education and conservation efforts
is a massive data collection effort
made possible by partnering with citizen scientists.
- There aren't enough scientists out there
to be at all places at once so that's why
citizen science work is a very important contribution,
and a lot of scientists are starting
to recognize the benefit
of citizen science organizations like us.
- That gives a snapshot that you could never organize
or fund or make arrangements for scientists
to go out and make that kind of data collection.
So by having all those eyes out there
the amount of data is just incredible.
- [Narrator] Gotham Whale spotters are
on commercial whale watching cruises
like the American Princess,
but boaters and kayakers often also participate.
Volunteers log details of sightings
including time, exact location,
and other important information;
like pictures of the whales fluke,
the underside of it's tail.
It has unique patterns that allow Paul and his team
to identify individual whales.
Those data points are starting to show various trends.
Why are they coming here year over year?
Are they the same whales?
How long do they stay from the beginning
of the season to the end?
All this information will be gathered,
not by one or two observations,
but many, many, many observations,
and we want to be part of that
and generate serious publications that will
be recognized by decision makers, authorities.
- [Narrator] Data collection may not sound super exciting,
but it's the foundation of understanding
what's happening in our world,
and in this case, what's happening in the waters
surrounding New York City.
That information is crucial to forming policies
and practices that ensure whales
can continue to bounce back
and thrive in this unique habitat.
- I'm retired so I can do pretty much what I want,
and this is what I want to do.
We want to change the perception of people
that whale watching and whales in New York go together.
- Here's Paul to tell you more about how you can help Gotham Whale.
- If you're interested in adopting a whale, Gotham Whale provides this print
along with a history, a mapping of where we saw the whale,
and a letter, of course, of thanks for helping to support Gotham Whale.