A humpback whale breached the water and landed on a small boat in the waters of Plymouth on Sunday morning, officials said.
No injuries were reported after the whale landed on the bow of a 19-foot boat off White Horse Beach about noon, Plymouth officials said in a statement.
The boat sustained minimal damage that did not affect its seaworthiness, the statement said.
“This interaction @Plymouth_Harbor is a reminder of how whale and boater interactions can become dangerous!” the Plymouth harbormaster said on Twitter.
The harbormaster sent information about the incident to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, who interviewed the six people who were recreationally fishing aboard the boat and determined that no violations occurred, officials said.
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A video taken by a nearby boater shows the whale pop up and knock the bow of the boat below the water’s surface before going back down.
This interaction @Plymouth_Harbor is a reminder of how whale and boater interactions can become dangerous! For ways to remain safe while boating around whales, please visit: https://t.co/Q0oHmmzf5F #SeeASpout https://t.co/g1WaENv4vP
— PlymouthHarbormaster (@Plymouth_Harbor) July 24, 2022
An image shared by town officials shows a boater holding onto the vessel after it was rocked and pushed down by the whale.
This morning, in the White Horse Beach area, a whale breached and landed on the bow of a small 19’ vessel. A...
Posted by Town of Plymouth, MA on Sunday, July 24, 2022
Boaters should stay at least 100 yards from a whale to minimize interactions that could be dangerous to both people and whales, the Plymouth Harbormaster Department said.
Correction: Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this report misstated the location of the whale breach. It occurred off White Horse Beach, south of Plymouth Harbor.
Madison Mercado can be reached at madison.mercado@globe.com.