Humpback Whales Leaping Everywhere

The sighting this month was made by crew on the CCGS Vector, a Canadian Coast Guard Vessel that was conducting a shellfish survey west of Haida Gwaii. Suspecting they had just witnessed something rare, the crew sent the photos off to the Pacific Biological Station, where they eventually ended up in front of John Ford and his colleagues.
Ford was able to confirm that it was indeed the third recorded sighting, including the two in 2013, of the rare species of whale that experts believed had been nearly extirpated.
"For those of us whose careers, whose life work has been working on whales off our Coast, we’d kind of given up hope that these animals would ever be seen again here," said John Ford, who has since retired, yet is still active in the research. "It’s very thrilling."
Although no exact number exists due to a lack of data and sightins, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans estimates fewer than 50 of these whales exist today….
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"How many more do we have to lose before we get to urgent action?" asked Christianne Wilhelmson, the Georgia Strait Alliance’s executive director, after a morning press conference where Transport Canada Minister Marc Garneau spoke to measures -his government is taking to help protect the endangered whales.
"It’s clear that we must take immediate action to help these whales by addressing the three main threats they are facing," Garneau said.
Those threats are food availability, noise and pollution.
On the B.C. coast, steps include a new requirement for marine vessels, including recreational boats, to keep at least 200 metres away from killer whales, fishery closures in areas where whales forage for food, limits on the total Chinook commercial fishery, and increased funding for research, monitoring and enforcement.
The government will also be working with BC Ferries to develop a noise-management plan and is asking marine vessels to slow down in the Haro Strait.
But it won’t be enough to help the declining whale population recover, said Misty MacDuffee of Raincoast Conservation.
Both MacDuffee and Wilhelmson said as a start they’d like to see the foraging areas closed to all boats, including commercial whale-watching boats not just fishing boats.
"You have to allow these animals to feed," Wilhelmson said.
At 75 members, the population is lower than it’s been in a few decades, she said. When the population fought to recover from its last dangerous dip, it had fewer environmental concerns to deal with. Back then, there was more food and less noise.
The situation is "urgent," she said. "We need adequate threat-reduction measures, and that’s what we’re not seeing."…
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A newly released Greenpeace USA report confirms increased oil tanker traffic from the proposed Trans Mountain Expansion Project could deepen threats to marine life – including the region’s dwindling orca population – and impact coastal communities.
The report spells out additional potential environmental, social and economic impacts of the controversial tar sands oil pipeline project, which the Canadian government recently committed to purchasing for CAD $4.5 billion in public funds….
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Founder, Susan MacKay was on the water June 23, 2018 to monitor for marine mammals prior to and during the sinking of Powell River’s first artificial reef. Concern about the blast concussion and what we know can be detrimental to whales, the sinking would have had to be delayed for the animals to clear the area. There were a few sea lions around, so a number of seal bombs were set off to discourage the animals from investigating all the boats, and giving them time to depart the area. These are two underwater recordings of seal bombs used prior to sinking the YOGN and the main event. Thanks to all who helped monitor and understood the potential detriment to the animals….
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Harbor seals, sea lions and some fish-eating killer whales have been rebounding along the Northeast Pacific Ocean in recent decades. But that boom has come with a trade-off as they devour the main food supply for our resident orcas….
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An “incredibly bold” orca who lost half her dorsal fin in a mystery accident has treated whale watchers to a rare sighting in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

Pickle, who is one of fewer than 200 orca now living in New Zealand waters, surfaced next to a sea safari on Friday as part of a 15-strong pod.

Nobody knows how the plucky ocean dweller ended up with a jagged half-fin, but a scientist who’s studied her since calf-hood said she hadn’t let it slow her down….
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At the tip of Cape Cod, a sandy spit reaches out into the Atlantic, like an arm, towards a vast underwater plateau where humpbacks gather each summer to feed. This is the US marine sanctuary of Stellwagen Bank, where for the past three weeks I’ve been a guest on the Dolphin Fleet whalewatch boats, working out of Provincetown.

I’ve been coming here for 18 years; it’s where I learned about whales. I’m inordinately fond of these animals and like me, they come back here too….
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Scientists published the first hearing tests on a wild population of healthy marine mammals. The tests on beluga whales in Bristol Bay, Alaska, revealed that the whales have sensitive hearing abilities and the number of animals that experienced extensive hearing losses was far less than what scientists had anticipated….
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Beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet may have changed their diet over five decades from saltwater prey to fish and crustaceans influenced by freshwater, according to a study by University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers.

An analysis of isotopes in beluga bone and teeth showed belugas formerly fed on prey that had little contact with freshwater. More recent generations of belugas fed in areas where rivers pour freshwater into ocean habitats.

New information on Cook Inlet belugas is important because the species is endangered and its numbers have not increased despite hunting restrictions and other protections. Mark Nelson, a wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the lead author of the study, called it a little piece of that puzzle….
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