FAQ
The answers to the most frequently asked questions of our passengers.
The Fin whale is one of the largest animals known: the female, always slightly larger, can reach 27 m in length and weigh 80 tons. The fin whale is a predominantly pelagic cetacean, i.e. it lives in the open sea, far from the coast, in deep water. In the Mediterranean it is observed more abundantly in the central and western basins, particularly in the western Ligurian Sea.
Fin whales are the fastest of the large baleen whales, considering that on some occasions they can reach and exceed 20 knots (37 km/h). Rarely is it possible to see a whale jump almost completely out of the water.
A characteristic that makes this animal unmistakable is that of having the color of the asymmetrical jaw: the left side is dark, while the right side is white.
The fin whale needs a huge energy requirement, about 330 tons of food per year, which is rapidly stored during the feeding season, as subcutaneous fat. The hunting strategies do not involve group collaborations, nor particular techniques for concentrating the prey. The cetacean tends to quickly approach the school of fish keeping its mouth wide open, so as to increase the capacity of the throat region, then with its tongue it presses and releases the water, while the preys are held by the long baleen (they can reach 90 cm long).
The whale’s spray is usually high and upright, it can be visible even at great distances.
Sightings of fin whales carried out by the boats of the Liguria Via Mare Consortium:
2022: 22 fin whales sighted in 77 outings
2021: 2 fin whales sighted in 55 outings
2020: 15 fin whales sighted in 35 outings
2019: 1 fin whale sighted in 33 outings
2018: 16 fin whales sighted in 50 outings
2017: 9 fin whales sighted in 39 outings
2016: No fin whales sighted in 53 outings
2015: 6 fin whales sighted in 43 outings
2014: 15 fin whales sighted in 48 outings
2013: 25 fin whales sighted in 55 outings
2012: 20 fin whales sighted in 47 outings
2011 (data referring to the April-June period only): 6 fin whales sighted in 20 outings
2010: 36 fin whales sighted in 83 outings
To view the complete list of sightings click here.
See photos of fin whales spotted on our outings.