A young humpback whale that washed up near Haida Gwaii last weekend appears to have died from blunt force trauma from being hit by a boat or ship.
Humpback populations in B.C. are recovering well from the era of industrial whaling.
However, ship strikes and entanglements are the greatest threats facing humpback whales today.
Jackie Hildering, humpback whale researcher and education lead for the Marine Education and Research Society, said the humpback whale showed signs of “blunt force trauma.”
“There’s always a chance that the impact that was after the whale’s death but in the case of a young whale like this, who is otherwise seemingly healthy, it would be extraordinarily surprising it is not another case of a humpback getting hit by a vessel.”
Hildering said it is not just the humpback whales that are dying from ship strikes.
Fin whales and grey whales are also at risk as they are slow-moving and lack the spatial awareness and agility of smaller whales, such as orcas.
“We have to make sure the protection remains for these baleen whales that we have a second chance with,” Hildering added.
She said they can be resting and eating just below the surface and it can be deadly for the whales as they cannot be seen.
“And then you couple that with the lack of boater awareness and the presumption that the whales know where boats are or that the whales are going in a predictable direction, it is really problematic,” Hildering said.
“For the second biggest whale in the world, the fin whale, they too have made a recovery in British Columbian waters from the brink of extinction. But they were brutally whaled up to 55 years ago and now there’s a critical period for the public to provide input to whether their protection gets reduced or not.”
Hildering explained if their protection is reduced, it means fin whales’ status changes from “threatened” to “special concern.” This means less action will be taken to understand their habitat and how to reduce threats.
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