Madeira Sea Life   

Yesterday evening an adult Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus was seen in resting on the waters of Funchal bay, more precisely near Lido area. This threatened species was once popular in Madeira Island but hunting scared the few individuals that survived to Desertas Islands , south of Madeira. Desertas Islands are now the only breeding place for this small colony of Mediterranean Monk Seals with about 30 individuals.

Observing these spectacular sea mammals along Funchal coast means that this species is getting some confidence about Madeira Island again... Maybe some day we will have the chance to see again these nice seals resting in Câmara de Lobos beach, after all it was due to this behavior that this city was named like that!

Madeira Sea Life   

After some years of recovery from intensive whale hunting which was forbidden in early 80s in Madeira, it is now possible to observe cetaceans in this archipelago waters again. Now you can run a whale and dolphin watching trip and you will have the chance to observe these friendly species, almost for sure.

There is also a Whale museum (Museu da Baleia) in Caniçal, the village that was the centre of whale hunting, where you may complement your knowing about whales, but there is nothing like seeing it alive on sea.

Whales, Dolphins and Cory's Shearwaters

Madeira Sea Life  Madeira Traditions   

The black scabbard fish (Aphanopus carbo) is a species from Madeira sea fish. Its habitat is in deep waters, around 1000 meters of depth. Due to its habitat it is a dark fish with big eyes, different from the scabbard fish captured in mainland waters.

Captured mainly by Câmara de Lobos fishermen it measures about 1 meter and can live from 4 to 10 years old. It is one of the deepest types of deepsea fishing in the world.

Madeira Sea Life   

In Madeira Archipelago’s waters it has been observed, frequently or occasionally, 21 species of sea mammals. 20 of these belong to the Cetacea order, which are whales and dolphins, and 1 to the Carnivora order, the Monk seal.

Photo by: Claudia Gomes

The Cetacea order is divided into two suborders, Mysticeti (baleen whales) and Odontoceti (toothed whales, which includes dolphins and porpoises). The big whales that belong to the Mysticeti suborder stay temporarily in Madeira sea while migrating from the tropical and sub-tropical waters to the cold and freezing Artic waters. These are very large animals with adults reaching 30 meters long and 160 tons of weight.

Photo by: Claudia Gomes

The species belonging to the Odontoceti suborder are mainly dolphins and sperm whales, which use the sea of Madeira Archipelago as passage point, as feeding or reproduction area or, possibly for some species, as a permanent residence habitat. This is a diversified group with smaller animals which range from the common dolphin with about 2 meters long and 80 kg to the sperm whale that can measure up to 18 meters long and weight around 70 tons.
The monk seal is the only species in Madeira that belongs to the Carnivora order, Pinnipedia suborder, where species are not exclusively aquatic.

Photo by: Claudia Gomes

Their life is divided between the sea, where they look for food, socialize and mate with each other and land, where they rest and take care of its chicks during their first months of life. The Madeira monk seal colony is small and is usually seen near the coastal area around Desertas Islands.

Madeira Sea Life   

The following sea mammals, with exception of the Monk Seal, are migratory species that do not inhabit the archipelago sea permanently.

Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) - Monk Seal, Phoque-Moine, Lobo-marinho, Foca-monge.

Balaena glacialis (Müller, 1776) or Eubalaena glacialis - Black Right Whale, Northern right whale, Baleine de Biscaye, Baleia-franca.

Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Lacepede, 1804) - Minke Whale, Petit Rorqual, Baleia-anã.

Balaenoptera borealis (Lesson, 1828) - Sei Whale, Rorqual de Rudolphi, Baleia-boreal.

Balaenoptera edeni (Anderson, 1878) - Bryde's whale, Rorqual de Bryde, Baleia-de-Bryde.

Balaenoptera musculus (Linne, 1758) - Blue Whale, Rorqual Bleu, Baleia-azul.

Balaenoptera physalus (Linne, 1758) - Fin Whale, Rorqual Commun, Baleia-comum.

Delphinus delphis (Linne, 1758) - Common Dolphin, Dauphin Commun, Golfinho-comum.

Grampus griseus (Cuvier, 1812) - Risso's Dolphin, Dauphin de Risso, Grampo.

Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) - Humpback Whale, Jubarte, Baleia-de-bossa.

Mesoplodon densirostris (De Blainville, 1817) - Dense-beaked Whale, Baleine Becune, Zífio, Baleia-de-bico-de-Blainville.

Orcinus orca (Linne, 1758) - Killer Whale, Orque, Orca ou Baleia-assassina, Roaz-de-bandeira.

Phocoena phocoena (Linne, 1758) - Harbour Popoise, Marsouin, Boto, Marsopa, Toninha.

Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846) - False Killer Whale, Faux-orque, Falsa-orca.

Physeter macrocephalus (Linne, 1758) - Sperm Whale, Cachalot, Cachalote.

Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833) - Striped Dolphin, Dauphin Bleu et Blanc, Golfinho-riscado.

Stenella frontalis (Cope, 1866) - Bridled Dolphin, Dauphin Bride, Golfinho-pintado.

Steno bredanensis (Lesson, 1828) - Rough-toothed Dolphin, Dauphin a Bec Etroit, Caldeirão.

Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) - Bottlenosed Dolphin, Grand Dauphin, Roaz-corvineiro ou Golfinho Nariz-de-garrafa.

Ziphius cavirostris (Cuvier, 1823) - Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Baleine Becune de Cuvier, Bico-de-pato, Zífio, Baleia-de-bico-de-Cuvier.

Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby, 1804) - Sowerby's Beaked Whales, Mesoplodon de Sowerby, Baleia-de-bico de Sowerby.

The next species are in danger: Monachus monachus, Balaenoptera physalus, Eubalaena glacialis, Physeter macrocephalus, Phocoena phocoena and Megaptera novaeangliae.