A few Transient Bigg's Orca have been spotted in the upper Georgia Strait through Discovery Passage, but have once again been extremely elusive to those keeping eyes out for them. They seem to be here then nowhere to be seen.
Humpback Whales, on the other hand, have been foraging around the Cape Mudge to Mitlenatch Island and into Sutil Channel regions for the most part. A few more keep working their way into our inside waterways to join up with our usual whales stopping to feed by Gibsons at the entrance to Howe Sound.
Pacific White Sided Dolphins have returned to one their favourite locations. Nodales Channel and up into Bute Inlet. Only a few Dall's and a decent size group of Harbour Porpoise complete this week's report.
Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society
Humpback Whales, on the other hand, have been foraging around the Cape Mudge to Mitlenatch Island and into Sutil Channel regions for the most part. A few more keep working their way into our inside waterways to join up with our usual whales stopping to feed by Gibsons at the entrance to Howe Sound.
Pacific White Sided Dolphins have returned to one their favourite locations. Nodales Channel and up into Bute Inlet. Only a few Dall's and a decent size group of Harbour Porpoise complete this week's report.
Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society
Pacific White Sided Dolphin heading west by Hardinge Island
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Watching
Society News & Events
Our World Oceans Week celebration buffet event in Powell River was a great success! Major Thank You to all of our volunteers, donors and supporters for a wonderful evening.
Our next events where we will have an information table and will have our annual raffle tickets available are:
June 14: Prisma on the Beach, Willingdon Beach, Powell River, BC
June 17: MEC Paddlefest at Jericho Beach, Vancouver, BC
We will post other locations of our information tables as the dates become available. Please note that our raffle tickets are only available through our volunteers or at the information tables.
Real Time Monitoring Station Update:
Work on testing camera connectivity at Beach Gardens Marina is being scheduled Ongoing thanks you to all the volunteers and contributors who have, and are, working on this first installation!
Our team of Volunteers continue to do a great job in making sure all your sightings reports are mapped and published regularly. Would you like to join us?
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Sightings Update
ISSUE SIGHTINGS MAP 2017-015
Jump to: Biggs Orca | Orca | Humpback Whales | PWS Dolphins | Dalls Porpoise | Harbour Porpoise
TRANSIENT BIGGS KILLER WHALES
Mon Jun 12 2017
06:32 • 4 Biggs Orca moving slowly, off Cape Mudge heading towards the Cape Mudge Fishing Hump, Georgia Strait.
Dean Parsonage, 50 North Aventures
Fri Jun 09 2017
20:49 • est. 5 Biggs Orca heading south past Atrevida Reef just North of Powell River, Malaspina Strait. Includes 2 males.
Kim Lisberg, Lund, BC
20:39 • est. 5 Biggs Orca heading south off Grief Point, Powell River, Malaspina Strait. Observed from Grief Point Park. ▫ Observed from Shore
SIGHTING MEDIA
SIGHTING MEDIA
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC
SIGHTING MEDIA
Transient Biggs Killer Whales
About 5 Transient Bigg's Killer Whales heading south off of Grief Point
Fri, 9 Jun 2017 - 3 items
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC
SIGHTING MEDIA
Transient Biggs Killer Whales
About 5 Transient Bigg's Killer Whales heading south off of Grief Point
Fri, 9 Jun 2017 - 3 items
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC
Jump to: Biggs Orca | Orca | Humpback Whales | PWS Dolphins | Dalls Porpoise | Harbour Porpoise
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES
Thu May 18 2017
19:45 • 8-10 Orca playing, heading north in between the Campbell River Fishing Pier and Cape Mudge Lighthouse, Discovery Passage. ▫ Observed from Shore
Rebecca New, Campbell River, BC
Jump to: Biggs Orca | Orca | Humpback Whales | PWS Dolphins | Dalls Porpoise | Harbour Porpoise
HUMPBACK WHALES
Mon Jun 12 2017
18:20 • 2 Humpback Whales approaching the north side of Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce
17:00 • 2 Humpback Whales between Marina Reef and the reef off Cortes Island, Sutil Channel.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
15:39 • 2 Humpback Whales off Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. The whales are about 500-m from Mitlenatch Island. ▫ Leaving the Scene
15:10 • 2 Humpback Whales off the north side of Mitlenatch Island aiming towards Hernando Island, Georgia Strait. The whales are about 500-m from Mitlenatch Island.
Tenacious3 (Boat), Discovery Marine Safaris
10:55 • 1 Humpback Whales off the north-west side of Grant Reefs, Georgia Strait. From a fisherman. ▫ Second Hand
John Lewis, Discovery Marine Safaris
06:34 • Humpback Whales in Baker Passage.
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris
Sun Jun 11 2017
19:45 • 1 Humpback Whales off Langdale north of Gibsons, Collingwood Channel. Off the Langdale Ferry Terminal.
Ivan Ng, North Vancouver, BC
18:00 • 2 Humpback Whales foraging, heading south-west off the breakwater by the marina in Gibsons, Collingwood Channel. 2 blew close to buoys near Breakwater beach. Reappeared to blow intersecting the current slightly east in the channel where they followed the current SW into the channel and blew a third time before continuing on in the general direction of Georgia Beach. ▫ Observed from Shore
Jocelyn Van Nes, Gibsons, BC
17:20 • est. 2-8 Humpback Whales breaching, near the shoreline of Keats Island, Collingwood Channel. Seen from Langdale ferry, immediately behind the ferry as it travelled towards Horseshoe Bay between Keats and Gambier Islands. ▫ From Ferry
John Hawthorne, Vancouver, BC
11:46 • Humpback Whales between Mitlenatch Island and Baker Passage, Georgia Strait. ▫ Leaving the Scene
SIGHTING MEDIA
SIGHTING MEDIA
Tenacious3 (Boat), Discovery Marine Safaris
SIGHTING MEDIA
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale between Mitlenatch Island and Baker Passage
Sun, 11 Jun 2017 - 2 items
Kaitlin Paquette, Discovery Marine Safaris Naturalist
SIGHTING MEDIA
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale between Mitlenatch Island and Baker Passage
Sun, 11 Jun 2017 - 2 items
Kaitlin Paquette, Discovery Marine Safaris Naturalist
11:17 • 1 Humpback Whales on the north side of Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. ▫ Leaving the Scene
11:17 • 1 Humpback Whales by the red can in Baker Passage. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures
10:02 • 1 Humpback Whales doing circles, north side of Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. Other humpback disappeared. ▫ Leaving the Scene
09:34 • 2 Humpback Whales just out from Baker Passage.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching
06:25 • Humpback Whales near Cortes Island, Georgia Strait. From fishing guide. Near buoy. Observed blows. ▫ Second Hand
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris
Sat Jun 10 2017
13:59 • 1 Humpback Whales doing circles, between Hernando Island and Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. Only fluked once. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching
13:36 • 2 Humpback Whales heading south past Raven Bay, Texada Island, Malaspina Strait. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching
13:08 • 1 Humpback Whales ◦BCY0767 Arial◦ half way between Mitlenatch Island and Quadra Island, Georgia Strait.
Josh Grin, Eagle Eye Adventures
12:53 • 2 Humpback Whales ◦BCY0291 KC; BCY0767 Arial◦ heading south off Van Anda on Texada Island, Malaspina Strait. Swimming in unison.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching
12:23 • 1 Humpback Whales heading north approaching Whaletown, Sutil Channel. After about 10 minutes, it looks like the Humpback swung back to the south and now near the north end of Marina Island.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
12:16 • 1 Humpback Whales between Cortez Reef and Cape Mudge Green Can Buoy, Sutil Channel. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Tenacious3 (Boat), Discovery Marine Safaris
11:21 • 1 Humpback Whales doing circles, between Cape Mudge Green Can Buoy and Cortez Reef, Georgia Strait.
08:45 • 1 Humpback Whales off north-east end of Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. No direction.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
07:24 • 1 Humpback Whales heading north off Marina Reef, Sutil Channel.
Bradden Kiley, Painters Lodge, Campbell River
Fri Jun 09 2017
06:30 • 2 Humpback Whales between Cape Mudge Green Can Buoy and Cortes Island, Georgia Strait. From fishing guide. ▫ Second Hand
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris
Thu Jun 08 2017
17:49 • 2 Humpback Whales heading north close to Orange Point near Campbell River, Discovery Passage.
17:23 • 2 Humpback Whales heading north near April Point on Quadra Island, Discovery Passage. ▫ Second Hand
Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures
17:20 • Humpback Whales heading south in front of Cape Mudge Village on Quadra Island, Discovery Passage.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching
14:01 • 2 Humpback Whales in front of Discovery Harbour Marina near Campbell River, Discovery Passage.
Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures
09:53 • 2 Humpback Whales off the Cape Mudge Red Can Buoy off Wilby Shoals, Georgia Strait.
09:19 • 2 Humpback Whales heading north near the Cape Mudge Fishing Hump off Wilby Shoals, Georgia Strait.
Jim Rogers, Campbell River Whale Watching
08:14 • 3 Humpback Whales at the Cape Mudge Fishing Hump off Wilby Shoals.
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris
Wed Jun 07 2017
13:49 • 1 Humpback Whales at Centre Islet, Sutil Channel.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching
13:39 • 1 Humpback Whales travelling, heading west 1 mile south-west of Cape Mudge Red Can Buoy off Wilby Shoals, Georgia Strait. Pointed at Vancouver Island.
Shea Majbroda, Campbell River Whale Watching
12:13 • Humpback Whales travelling, heading south by Quathiaski Cove, Discovery Passage.
Ed Sharkey, Painters Lodge, Campbell River
Tue Jun 06 2017
15:29 • 1 Humpback Whales doing big circles, near Centre Islet, Sutil Channel. Small whale.
Jerry Weldon, Eagle Eye Adventures
12:07 • 1 Humpback Whales doing big circles, between Rebecca Spit and Open Bay, Sutil Channel. Not fluking.
SIGHTING MEDIA
SIGHTING MEDIA
Leigh Nelson, Adventure Quest Tours
SIGHTING MEDIA
Humpback Whales
One Humpback Whale between Rebecca Spit and Open Bay
Tue, 6 Jun 2017 - 1 items
Leigh Nelson, Adventure Quest Tours
SIGHTING MEDIA
Humpback Whales
One Humpback Whale between Rebecca Spit and Open Bay
Tue, 6 Jun 2017 - 1 items
Leigh Nelson, Adventure Quest Tours
11:19 • 1 Humpback Whales heading into Open Bay, Sutil Channel. Not fluking.
Shea Majbroda, Campbell River Whale Watching
10:20 • 1 Humpback Whales doing big circles, between Heriot Bay and Open Bay, Sutil Channel. Not fluking. ▫ Observed from Shore
Reuben Buerge, Eagle Eye Adventures
Jump to: Biggs Orca | Orca | Humpback Whales | PWS Dolphins | Dalls Porpoise | Harbour Porpoise
PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
Sun Jun 11 2017
17:15 • 40 PWS Dolphins milling, at 45 Point, Quadra Island, Discovery Passage. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
14:52 • PWS Dolphins off the south end of Browns Bay, Discovery Passage.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching
13:01 • 10-15 PWS Dolphins spread out, heading south-west off Johns Point, Nodales Channel.
Josh Grin, Eagle Eye Adventures
11:15 • 30-50 PWS Dolphins heading west, Dent Rapids.
Bradden Kiley, Painters Lodge, Campbell River
Sat Jun 10 2017
17:33 • PWS Dolphins few hundred meters offshore between Copper Cliffs and Walcan Seafood Quadra Island, Discovery Passage. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Shea Majbroda, Campbell River Whale Watching
17:05 • 50-75 PWS Dolphins heading north off Walcan Seafood Quadra Island, Discovery Passage. In 3 groups of 25 each.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching
15:30 • 30-40 PWS Dolphins heading south off Race Point, Discovery Passage.
15:15 • est. 25 PWS Dolphins playing, off Yellow Island, Discovery Passage.
Reuben Buerge, Eagle Eye Adventures
10:43 • 10 PWS Dolphins doing circles, at the mouth of Frederick Arm.
Bradden Kiley, Painters Lodge, Campbell River
Thu Jun 08 2017
13:51 • est. 50 PWS Dolphins heading west by Hardinge Island, Nodales Channel. ▫ Radio Report
SIGHTING MEDIA
SIGHTING MEDIA
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
SIGHTING MEDIA
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
About 50 Pacific White Sided Dolphins heading west by Hardinge Island
Thu, 8 Jun 2017 - 6 items
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
SIGHTING MEDIA
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
About 50 Pacific White Sided Dolphins heading west by Hardinge Island
Thu, 8 Jun 2017 - 6 items
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
Mon Jun 05 2017
15:56 • 9 PWS Dolphins travelling, heading south towards Rock Bay from Little Bear Bay, Johnstone Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
Rebecca New, Campbell River, BC
Jump to: Biggs Orca | Orca | Humpback Whales | PWS Dolphins | Dalls Porpoise | Harbour Porpoise
DALLS PORPOISE
Fri Jun 09 2017
11:10 • 8-10 Dalls Porpoise doing circles, at Hall Point, Nodales Channel.
Reuben Buerge, Eagle Eye Adventures
Jump to: Biggs Orca | Orca | Humpback Whales | PWS Dolphins | Dalls Porpoise | Harbour Porpoise
HARBOUR PORPOISE
Mon Jun 05 2017
11:45 • est. 25 Harbour Porpoise foraging, heading north-east at Grant Reefs, Georgia Strait. Harbor Porpoises surfacing all around us in groups of 2-5 animals, sometimes coming within 30 meters of boat. ▫ On Scene
Steve & Susan Grover, Powell River, BC
NEW! WOWs Sightings Archive Explorer
Recommended for desktop browsers and newer mobile devices
Dive into over 5,000 Cetacean Sightings, images, videos and audio recordings reported in our Sightings Updates with the WOWS Sightings Archive Explorer
Archive Explorer takes readers into the Cetacean world of the BC Coast. Easily view all Cetacean sighting reports together with all sighting photos and videos:
• View species such as Humpback, Grey Whale or Dalls Porpoise
• Follow the endangered Southern Residents Orca in the Salish Sea
• Search for encounters with T002C2 Tumbo
• Goto Port Alberni to watch a close-up video of Orca in the harbour
• Track the T010s Transients as they hunt and travel the inside passage
• Check-Out "KC", the ever popular Humphack and track his whereabouts this past August
• Goto one of 12,000 named locations on the BC and WA State coast
• Print custom sighting reports and maps (Coming Soon)
Explore this powerfull new research tool with the Archive Explorer Help page
Note: The Cetacean Sightings Archive is also available in database format together with sighting photo and video links for viewing, query and download here
Send your Comments and Questions to: Archive Explorer Feedback
Dive into over 5,000 Cetacean Sightings, images, videos and audio recordings reported in our Sightings Updates with the WOWS Sightings Archive Explorer
Archive Explorer takes readers into the Cetacean world of the BC Coast. Easily view all Cetacean sighting reports together with all sighting photos and videos:
• View species such as Humpback, Grey Whale or Dalls Porpoise
• Follow the endangered Southern Residents Orca in the Salish Sea
• Search for encounters with T002C2 Tumbo
• Goto Port Alberni to watch a close-up video of Orca in the harbour
• Track the T010s Transients as they hunt and travel the inside passage
• Check-Out "KC", the ever popular Humphack and track his whereabouts this past August
• Goto one of 12,000 named locations on the BC and WA State coast
• Print custom sighting reports and maps (Coming Soon)
Explore this powerfull new research tool with the Archive Explorer Help page
Note: The Cetacean Sightings Archive is also available in database format together with sighting photo and video links for viewing, query and download here
Send your Comments and Questions to: Archive Explorer Feedback
The Magazine
WEST COAST
CBC Science & Technologie
The Trump administration has thrown out a new rule meant to keep endangered whales and sea turtles from getting tangled in mile-long West Coast fishing nets.
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Monday it was cancelling the pending limit on the West Coast's sword-fishing industry — even though the fishing industry itself proposed the new rule.
The regulation was designed to cut the numbers of humpback whales, leatherback sea turtles and other creatures that accidentally get tangled in long, drifting nets.The regulation allowed for shutting down swordfish fishing with the drift nets for up to two fishing seasons if too many of the endangered animals are getting hurt by the nets.
The federal fisheries service says it decided the new rule wasn't warranted.
Environmental groups say it's one of the first such Trump administration rollbacks targeting endangered-species protections off the West Coast.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
ABC News, AU
Australian dolphin researchers have revealed a complex and strange behaviour where male humpback dolphins pose with their head and tail lifted from the water, often with a sea sponge on their foreheads to attract females.
Striking a 'banana pose' shows dolphins are intelligent and have complicated social lives, according to Simon Allen of the University of Western Australia....
The Castlegar Source / David Suzuki
Last summer’s expansion of Hawaii’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument created the world’s largest marine protected area. In October, the Ross Sea — home to some of the most productive waters in the Antarctic — was finally declared a marine reserve after a decades-long push. When a coalition of 24 countries agreed to provide international protection for 1,548,812 square kilometres of the Southern Ocean, the Ross Sea surpassed Papahānaumokuākea as the largest marine reserve. Most impressively, Palau, part of Micronesia in the western Pacific, turned 80 per cent of its waters — an area the size of California — into a marine reserve. Britain established the Pitcairn Islands reserve in the South Pacific, a contiguous underwater park nearly the size of Pakistan.
In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then U.S. president Barack Obama issued a joint statement to “substantially surpass” international commitments to reach 10 per cent marine protection, even though Canada has protected less than one per cent so far. Our government is getting started, though. It announced strong protection for globally significant glass sponge reefs near B.C.’s Haida Gwaii earlier this year, ending years of inaction.
Along with increased ocean protection, new technologies are ...
The Packet, NL
TRINITY, NL — It's a rare sight. Six sperm whales were spotted in the Bonavista Bay earlier this morning.
Shawna and Kris Prince, who run Sea of Whales Adventures, say that it's their first time spotting sperm whales since 2013.
They believe that these six whales may be the same ones that were seen four years ago as, even though they have not seen the whales since then, they have heard them echo-locating on their hydrophone, a special microphone used to detect sound waves underwater.
National Geographic
he central African nation of Gabon announced Monday the creation of Africa’s largest network of marine protected areas, home to a diverse array of threatened marine life, including the largest breeding populations of leatherback and olive ridley sea turtles and 20 species of dolphins and whales.
The network of 20 marine parks and aquatic reserves will protect 26 percent of Gabon’s territorial seas and extend across 20,500 square miles (53,000 square kilometers). In creating the protected areas, the Gabon government also set up what scientists call the most sustainable fisheries management plan for West Africa ...
BioMed Central
Pygmy Killer Whales (Feresa attenuata) are an enigmatic and rarely seen species. For almost a century the species was only know by the recovery of two skulls, until the 1950s. A blackfish-boat harpooned one of the individuals, and since that point their have only been a scattering of sightings, in the Indian and Western Pacific oceans. Strandings, bycatch and sight records have made up the bulk of the current data. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the species simply as “Data Deficient” because we know so little about them.
Another point that contributes to our lack of understanding ...
NPR
In Suitland, Maryland a giant warehouse holds the largest collection of whale bones in the world.
Stacked from floor to ceiling are bones of sperm whales, gray whales, and the largest whales on Earth—blue whales, which can reach 380,000 pounds. Ancient whale fossils, tens of millions of years old, are also packed into the collection.
It's the job of Nick Pyenson to try to figure out how these whales developed to what they are now. He sees himself as kind of a paleontologist detective. His more formal title is Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History....
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