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Hoboken Resident Captures Video Of 3 Whales Eating During Fishing Trip On Jersey Shore

No, the up-close video of three whales was not recorded near Provincetown, Mass., Nantucket Island or during a Maui whale watch tour.

Video taken by Roger Muller Jr. of Hoboken, Viktor Popov of Belleville and a friend from the Florida Keys last month captured a rare view of whales surrounded by seagulls and swallows about two miles off the Jersey Shore near Sandy Hook and Sea Girt.

 Photo Credit: Video courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
WHALE TALES: Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.

WHALE TALES: Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.

 Photo Credit: Courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
As a whale submerges about two miles off the Jersey Shore, seagulls and swallows swoop in for its leftover seafood. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

As a whale submerges about two miles off the Jersey Shore, seagulls and swallows swoop in for its leftover seafood. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

 Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
A whale surfacing about two miles off the Jersey Shore last month. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

A whale surfacing about two miles off the Jersey Shore last month. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

 Photo Credit: Courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
A whale trailed by hungry seagulls submerges about two miles off the Jersey Shore last month. (Photo courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

A whale trailed by hungry seagulls submerges about two miles off the Jersey Shore last month. (Photo courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

 Photo Credit: ourtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
A whale submerges about two miles off the Jersey Shore. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

A whale submerges about two miles off the Jersey Shore. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

 Photo Credit: Courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
Whale Tail: A whale submerging about two miles off the Jersey Shore last month. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

Whale Tail: A whale submerging about two miles off the Jersey Shore last month. (Photos courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr. )

 Photo Credit: Courtesy of Roger J. Muller, Jr.
Roger J. Muller, Jr.

Roger J. Muller, Jr.

 Photo Credit: Roger J. Muller, Jr.
Jon Craig
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Rather, just two miles off the New Jersey coast.

Lifelong fisherman Roger J. Muller, Jr. got the shot on one of his monthly fishing trips to Sandy Hook.

Muller has fished all over the world and has seen a lot -- but never anything like this.

"Boy, it was totally amazing," said Muller, who owns Muller Insurance Agency (est.1906).

Muller was with two friends on his fishing boat -- a Grady-White Express -- about noon on June 1, when he spotted the whales gobbling up seafood between Coney Island and Sea Girt.

Each whale would surface with mouth wide open, swallowing sand eels and other critters of the ocean lurking atop the waves.

Muller's video also shows dozens of seagulls and swallows swooping down to grab any of the whales' leftovers as they submerged back under the ocean surface. 

Muller said as the whales surfaced, water and bunker (bait) would flow into their mouths "like a waterfall and then some dead, munched-up pieces would flow back out, to the seagulls' delight. 

A friend of Muller's, Todd Chandler from the Florida Keys, helped him video-record the whales from the front of Muller's Grady White Express.

Captain Viktor Popov of Belleviille (Essex County) maneuvered the boat very close to the whales, Muller said. Sometimes Popov even jumps into the water to capture up-close shots of sunfish and other sea life, according to Muller.

Shortly after the whales' visit, Muller said he was able to watch saddleback dolphins swim along Monmouth County's shoreline, the first time the angler has seen dolphins in New Jersey. 

To view more of Muller's water adventures, visit LionfishDivers.com

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