The highest-ever count for Humpback Whales in the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea has been announced by a project that monitors the mammals in collaboration with other researchers.
According to the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration (CPHC), 396 Humpback Whales were documented in the Salish Sea, which includes 34 mothers with their first-year calves.
The most recent count showed a massive jump in numbers from 2017 — where 293 Humpback Whales were documented in the same area.
“This ‘Humpback comeback’ is remarkable, considering commercial whaling in British Columbia ended only 55 years ago and the benefits of the whales’ presence are farreaching,” CPHC staff said in a release.
This is the highest number of Humpback Whales documented in one year in the Salish Sea since records have been kept, as reported by Tasli Shaw, project lead for Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea (HWSS).
HWSS collates sightings from researchers, ecotourism captains and naturalists, and additional citizen scientists.
“The Salish Sea is a place where many Humpback Whales have learned to find food and how best to capture it,” said Tasli Shaw of HWSS.
“There seems to be a public misconception that Humpbacks simply migrate through this area. We see the highest number of sightings in the fall, and it is the same whales year after year who we see socializing, feeding, and resting within the waters of the Salish Sea.”
The two organizations are using the great news to spread another message — Humpback Whales are often oblivious to boats and fishing gear and human vigilance is needed to protect the whales.
“They do not have the biosonar of toothed whales and are very focussed on feeding while in the waters of British Columbia,” CPHC staff said.
“They often stay in one area and surface in unpredictable patterns. They may also be sleeping or nursing just below the surface.”
It is difficult to know how many Humpback Whales die from vessel strikes and entanglement because dead whales often sink, according to CPHC.
“Slowing down, increasing vigilance and distance from the whales, and understanding Humpback Whale behaviour can reduce threats,” CPHC said.
The CPHC catalogues Humpback Whales off the coast of British Columbia. The CPHC said its centralized catalogue and database of individual Humpback Whales enables an understanding of the whales’ habitat use, population size and structure, life histories, and the impacts of threats like vessel strikes and entanglement.