A Gloucester fisherwoman and her husband saw a legendary orca known to New England’s waters — but not often seen — and called the experience lifechanging.
Seeing that kind of whale is a rare sight on the water, even for seasoned fishermen, and Donna Piraino couldn’t believe it was happening on Sunday. She called it a “life-changing, phenomenal, amazing, bucket list-type of thing that you’d want to see in your life, especially when you’re out on the water as much as we are.”
She and her husband are commercial fisherman who were looking for bluefin tuna Sunday afternoon on Stellwagen Bank, an ocean feeding ground. A pod of dolphins caught their eye, and then they saw the giant dorsal fin.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, I think it’s an orca,'” Piraino recalled.
Donna Piraino
Donna Piraino
An orca whale known as Old Thom surfacing off of Massachusetts on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025.
About six feet of fin and longer than their 27-foot boat — that’s Old Thom, one of the only orcas regularly seen in the waters of the North Atlantic.
A killer whale spotted swimming around a fisherman’s boat is no stranger to the waters.
“It seems like Old Tom is seen almost every year in kind of like the greater New England area, which is really interesting,” said Amy Warren, a scientific program officer at the New England Aquarium.
Biologists confirm it’s him based on markings and the fact that he’s hanging with dolphins, not other orcas.
“It’s a big deal. And I think it’s because it’s so rare, but it happens often enough that it’s really all about timing of whether you’re in the right place at the right time,” Warren said.
Piraino, one of the lucky ones, is sharing her tale — even if she’s short on the words to describe it: “It’s a feeling you feel when something amazing happens to you. And it’s a good thing. We need more good things in life. We need more good things.”