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Possible rare whale sighting off Naples Monday

Possible rare whale sighting off Naples Monday
Possible rare whale sighting off Naples Monday
Posted at 12:03 PM, Jan 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-23 06:47:06-05

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. -- A crab fisherman has shared a photo with us of what he says was a whale sighting off Naples.

Dennis Canfield says he was offshore just south of the Naples Pier on Monday morning when he came across a huge whale.

The photo appears to show a North Atlantic Right Whale.  The endangered species commonly appears off the east coast of Florida in the winter to give birth, but they are not often seen in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dennis estimated its size as about 35 feet long and 12 feet wide.

Last week there was a Right Whale sighting off Panama City Beach.

UPDATE: A fishing charter company out of Naples also spotted the whale.  They posted this video to Facebook Monday: