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Whale & Marine Life Video Archive
The World’s Largest Archive of whale behaviors, annotated by species, name, behavior and associations.
When you adopt a whale through our program, you’re getting more than just a certificate and picture—you’re getting a front-row seat to their world. Our Ultimate Whale Adoption Program draws from the WMLVA, an expansive archive built over 16 years of recording whales in the Gulf of Maine. Because we’ve spent decades annotating every sighting and social interaction, we can show you your whale’s unique personality and behaviors, both common and rare.
It’s the closest you can get to the ocean without getting on the boat!
17,096 trips recorded
The video archive began on the Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown in Massachusetts. After a few years, Bar harbor, Maine was next and finally Plymouth, MA.
17,096 whale watch trips (4 or 5 hours each) totalled over 68,384 hours on the ocean video documenting the daily lives of whales and all other sealife encountered.
68,384 hours on the water
41,620 hours of review to create the videos of the whales
Filming the whales was only half the work.
Back on land, I spent countless evenings reviewing the footage. Every dive, every fluke pattern, every interaction had to be logged and cataloged. It took **41,620 hours** to review 25% of the 8,000 hours of original videotape—a task that required more patience than I ever expected to possess.
From this effort, the **Whale & Marine Life Video Archive** was born—a detailed visual record of thousands of encounters, a chronicle of the changing ocean, and a testament to the incredible creatures that inspired it all.
Sharing the whale archive
“The Ultimate Whale Adoption Program”
Provides a documentary of each whale as seen in the Gulf of Maine. This strengthens the tie between human and whale.
Other whale adoption programs include humpback whales that have documentaries produced as well. If your adopted whale has a name and feeds in the Gulf of Maine, we have 50 unique documentaries for all other adoption programs. You may purchase digital access to the whale you adopted. This is coming soon for IWC, WDC and Ocean Alliance humpback whales.
Research Groups
The Whale Archives have provided no cost access to sightings for two research papers. One studied bubble ring structure and the other looked at handedness, are whales left or right handed?
We have long held that our archives would be instrumental in researching whether culture exists within whale species.
Education
The archive can provide developers of whale education units a unique resource to demonstrate all common and rare whale behaviors.
Miscellaneous Use
- Adoption Programs
- Research
- Education
- Miscellaeous
Named Whale Documentaries
Many of us have fond memories of “adopting” a humpback whale. One of the most beloved programs was run by the International Wildlife Coalition, which managed a roster of 50 whales, ranging from Abraxus to Tanith.
Until our unique fundraising parternership was formed, the adoptee received information about their whale and a photograph of the tail.
After two years of effort, adoptees could watch their whale feeding, breaching, visiting boats and interactions with each other as well as seeing mothers and calves together.
We are excited to share that we’ve delved into our archives and recovered historical fundraising videos for every single one of those whales—ensuring at least 19 minutes of footage for each individual. If you held an adoption certificate with the IWC or a current program and would like to “meet” your whale again, please reach out to us for availability.
Award Winning Documentary
Salt & Friends: Humpback Whales With Names
(2002 Telly Award for Nature/Wildlife and Education Programs)
Studio edited to finally share the story of whales as individuals, with names and unique personalities, as well as an interest in boats and people on them.
Fifteen humpback whales are highlighted with voiceovers telling their stories.
Females with Family Members
Salt, Pepper, Olympia, Fringe, CatsPaw, Arrow, Nurse and Silver.
Males introduced
Rocker, Sockeye, Churchill, Ember, Coral, Regulus andColt.
Best of theYear Programs
Each whale watching port has unique scenery as well as named whales that have a preference for those feeding grounds.
A new category of compilation videos were born from this environment.
The Best of Provincetown Whale Watching
The Best of Bar Harbor Whale Watching
The Best of Plymouth Whale Watching
Beyond Belief: The Humpback Whale