Winter Whales!

Over the past 4 weeks, we have received sighting reports of Humpback whales and Orca around the Powell River area. Some of the Humpback whales were observed breaching and doing other surface activities, like lifting their flukes (tails) out of the water. Humpback whales usually travel to warmer waters when its winter here in Canada but there appears to be a few who either head south later in the season OR they may be staying all-year round in B.C. waters. One of the Transient Orca pods was possibly hunting, as the Orca was observed flinging something into the air but due to the distance of the Orca, the object was unidentified. If you see any whale, dolphin, or porpoise, let us know as they are around!

Go to our magazine section to see a short video of a dolphin stampede off of California, and read about the estimated age of Right whales. Also in our magazine section is an article about a Humpback whale that has travelled over 8000-miles.

As a reminder that if you are boating and out on the water, please be aware of the presence of whales and dolphins. Signs of their presence may include blows of the Cetaceans and other boats stopped or moving slowly in an area. Boats and other water craft (e.g. kayaks) must remain at least 400-meters away from Orca and at least 100-m away from other species. See the full government regulation in the paragraph below.

The Federal Government (DFO) issued the following statement about watching Orca in the wild: “Vessels must stay 400-m away and may not position a vessel in the path of killer whales in southern BC coastal waters between Campbell River and just north of Ucluelet until May 31, 2025.” For all other areas of B.C. outside of the area indicated above, a minimum distance of 200-m must be maintained when viewing Orca OR while viewing any Cetaceans that are resting or with a calf. When viewing whales, dolphins, and porpoises under other circumstances not described above, a minimum distance of 100-m must be kept. A great resource for up to date Canadian or US regulations: Be Whale Wise Guidelines

WOWs works throughout the year, so please continue to keep your eyes open, and report your sightings to us.