Fishers, divers and whale watchers are keeping an eye on a friendly beluga whale swimming in the Bay of Fundy.

The young whale was first sighted in September near an aquaculture site at Pocologan, N.B. Since then, Poco – as he has been nicknamed – has been swimming around commercial divers while they work on salmon pens.

Beluga whales are friendly by nature and they crave interaction with their own kind.

Poco: friendly beluga's curiosity may lead him to danger

Poco somehow became separated from his pod and he seems to have turned to people to fill the void.

Belugas aren't usually found in the region, so staff at a Nova Scotia beluga protection group are tracking Poco closely.

"I do encourage people to remember these are wild animals," says Cathy Kinsman, director of the Whale Stewardship Program.

Cathy Kinsman

"Poco may touch a diver on the shoulder, but I recommend that they stay calm and go on with their work."

Kinsman fears Poco's curiosity will lead him to danger, like getting entangled in fishing gear.

Ten years ago, Wilma the whale mysteriously appeared in the province's Chedabucto Bay. She stayed for six years, swimming around boat propellers while people tried to feed and ride her.

Kinsman says she hopes Poco swims away and joins his pod. She suspects he comes from the St. Lawrence River, although it's possible he swam down from the Arctic.

She adds their research over the last six years suggests an increase in the number of stray belugas throughout Atlantic Canada.

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Kinsman continues to monitor Poco's movements. He was last reported heading away from western New Brunswick, possibly towards Maine.