Humpbacks Galore and Orca Hunting in Desolation Sound

??:?? • Bigg`s Orca by Refuge Cove, Lewis Channel. ?T002Cs? Observed in the area over 2 days.

07:30 • 3 Bigg`s Orca travelling, heading North-East Dawsons Landing, Rivers Inlet. ▫ Observed from Shore

14:30 • 2 Bigg`s Orca travelling, heading South-West near Polly Point, Alberni Inlet. Traveling away from the Port Alberni harbor between Canal Beach and Polly Point. ▫ On Scene

15:30 • 2 Humpback Whales heading North near Seymour Narrows approaching Maude Island, Discovery Passage. With the current.

14:20 • 1 Humpback Whales breaching, heading South 1/2 mile off Race Point, Discovery Passage. ?BCY0291 KC?

11:15 • 1 Humpback Whales in front of Big Bay, Yuculta Rapids.

18:29 • 1 Humpback Whales heading South at Browns Bay, Discovery Passage.

??:?? • 2 Harbour Porpoise swimming, heading North off Roberts Creek towards Davis Bay, Georgia Strait. Almost didn’t see the porpoise as they passed by Roberts Creek pier. Just caught a few second glimpse as they appeared, disappeared then appeared, disappeared and then moved further out. There were two but they didn’t surface at the same time.

REGIONAL & WEST COAST

WATCH: Controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline will mean a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic along Vancouver Island and critics say that could devastate endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Tess van Straaten reports.There are growing fears conditional approval for the controversial expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline could put the USD $144 million trans-border whale watching industry at risk….

FARALLONES MARINE SANCTUARY (KPIX 5) – A group of scientists returned Sunday from their 13th annual research trip in the Farallones Marine Sanctuary, where they say they saw more whales than ever before.

"All the rock stars were out. We had an orca and fin whales and humpback whales," Marine Mammal Observer Dru Devlin said.

Researchers even spotted a mother humpback whale and her calf.

"The whales are here and they are feeding …

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife sent a letter out to crab fisherman this week asking them to pull their pots early from Monterey Bay.

The request comes in response to an increase in whale entanglements this spring.

According to the center for biological diversity there have been ten confirmed whale entanglements off California since March but the reported numbers are higher.

Representatives with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said most of the entanglement cases have involved Humpback Whales, a species which spends time in the Monterey Bay in the spring and a species with a growing population.

CANADA

More and more residents of Newfoundland have been capturing video and photos of whales along the coastlines.

‘It’s pretty rare’, says DFO scientist of humpback whale in St. John’s harbour
The latest, from Joelle Denise Carey, was taken Thursday night off Quidi Vidi.

INTERNATIONAL

In recent years, the number of Chinese white dolphins has seen steady increase in the Beibu Gulf of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region thanks to the better marine ecological protection in the region. April to September is the mating period of Chinese white dolphins and they become relatively active during this period.

Sampal’s calf, seen in the waters off Jeju, South Korea, suggests reintroduced dolphins can go on to lead healthy lives, experts say.

Lindy Weilgart, a researcher at Dalhousie University, writes about the effects of sound on marine life, joining a group of researchers who are increasingly concerned about the growing noise pollution in our oceans.

Increased activity and traffic from boats, commercial shipping traffic, military sonar systems, and seismic air guns – used by oil companies to detect natural gas deposits – have all contributed to what scientists call a "cocktail party effect," an accumulation of sounds that threaten underwater life.

"Twenty years ago, the issue was virtually nonexistent, but since then there’s been a great infusion of science and regulatory concern," says Michael Jasny, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council….

WAIKOLOA – Things you can’t learn from a book – how the skin of a healthy dolphin feels, how the animal feels resting on your hands, and how powerfully a thriving cetacean heart beats under the palm.

This past week, more than a dozen volunteers for the Hawaii Marine Mammal Response Network took the measure of healthy dolphins in Waikoloa so they’ll know the difference when they encounter a sick animal in the wild.

Volunteers from across the island …