Spring Brings more Whales and Dolphins!

Spring has arrived and with warmer temperatures comes abundance of life. The number of sightings of Cetaceans has increased during the past few weeks. Many pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins were spotted, with some pods numbering around 50 members. These dolphins swim really fast with speeds up to 50 km/h and often leap out of the water as they travel. Many Transient Orca were seen in many areas. On March 24th, a large pod of 30 Transient Orca were observed in Discovery Passage and in upper Georgia Strait during the afternoon. Normally, Transient Orca travel only with their family, which includes 4-6 individuals on average but larger groups of Transient Orca may form occasionally.

Every year during Spring, Grey whales migrate northward towards northern B.C. and Alaska. Most remain offshore to the west of Vancouver Island but a few travel through Georgia Strait and other inland waterways. A Grey whale was spotted near Comox on March 26 and a couple of other Grey whale reports were received a few days later. Rounding our report are sightings of porpoises. A pod of 20 Dall’s porpoises was observed in Calm Channel and a pod of 24 Harbour porpoises was in Georgia Strait.

The Federal Government (DFO) statement about watching whales in the wild: “To address disturbance in the presence of whales, a mandatory 400-metre vessel approach distance for all killer whales is in effect starting June 1, 2020 in all southern British Columbia coastal waters between Campbell River and just north of Ucluelet. The Marine Mammal Regulations continue to remain in effect year-round, including maintaining a minimum 200 metre approach distance from all killer whales in Canadian Pacific waters other than described above, and 100 metres for other whales, porpoises and dolphins OR 200 metres when the animal is in resting position or with a calf.”

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