51�Թ�

One fish, though — the sand lance — has remained in abundance this year, allowing puffins to thrive, said Don Lyons, director of conservation science at National Audubon Society’s Seabird Institute in Bremen, Maine.

Huge die-offs of seabirds and a small forage fish known as the sand lance had caught his interest around that time, and in 2005 funding finally allowed him to expand testing to the broader ecosystem.

There are about 1,500 breeding pairs in the state and they are dependent on fish such as herring and sand lance to be able to feed their young.

Humpbacks are not aggressive, and Mayo thinks it was an accidental encounter while the whale was feeding on fish, probably sand lance.

Humpbacks are not aggressive and Mayo thinks it was an accidental encounter while the whale was feeding on fish, likely sand lance.