Humpback Whale Sighted Off Coast In Long Island Sound

OLD LYME, CT — Humpback whales are a rare sight in Connecticut's waters, but one was caught on camera by Joe Diorio on Wednesday, WFSB reported. The humpback whale was seen in the Long Island Sound near Old Lyme.

Diorio told WFSB that they were a couple of thousand feet away, but he'd "never seen anything like this, it was so cool."

Diorio was on a fishing guide when noticed it. He said he's been fishing for 30 years in this area and never seen a humpback whale in this area before.

Members of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's fisheries division also saw the video and agreed that it was a humpback whale, according to The Hartford Courant. They had received a report about one of the mammals near to New London earlier this week.

Currently, there is a large population of Atlantic menhaden, or bunker, in the Sound, which attract large predators like humpbacks. The environmental agency records sightings of them once every few years, The Courant reported.

Ellie Smith also sighted a whale off Point o'Woods on Wednesday and shared photographs with NBC CT. Experts said that the increased sightings of the massive sea mammals could also be because of reduced noise and less environmental disturbance due to humans' behavior during the pandemic.

The population of humpback whales plummeted to near extinction in the 1960s due to hunting. The population worldwide has partially recovered and is estimated at 80,000 whales.

Two endangered blue whales were spotted earlier this year in Sea Canyon off the Connecticut Coast. A humpback whale was also spotted of the coast of New London in 2018.

See related: 2 Rare Blue Whales Sighted Off CT Coast In Sea Canyon

WATCH: Whale Spotted Just Off New London