More orcas, humpbacks spotted in Salish Sea in 2022 than ever before, whale watchers say | 24CA News
The variety of whales and orcas noticed within the Salish Sea final yr would possibly blow you away.
There have been 1,221 distinctive sightings of Bigg’s killer whales in 2022 — 154 greater than 2021’s report and double the variety of sightings 5 years in the past, in keeping with year-end information put collectively by the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) and native researchers.
“We saw either Bigg’s killer whales or humpback whales every single day of 2022,” stated Erin Gless, govt director of the PWWA, an affiliation of whale-watching tour operators in B.C. and Washington state.
“Many times we saw both of them on the same day.”
PWWA crew members reported sightings of Bigg’s, or transient, killer whales and humpback whales on 278 days and 274 days, respectively.
Gless stated on sure days, teams of as much as 100 humpback whales have been reported within the Juan de Fuca Strait, whereas a record-breaking 396 completely different humpbacks have been photographed within the Salish Sea through the 2022 season.
While Bigg’s killer whales and humpback whales have been the 2 most-encountered species, PWWA additionally stated there have been sightings of gray whales on 200 days, and minke whales on 158 days.
Why so many sightings?
Gless stated the excessive variety of sightings boils right down to meals. Killer whales, for instance, go to areas the place there are various seals, sea lions and porpoises to eat.
“We’ve got lots of food for them. And so, every year, we’ve been seeing more and more of them,” she stated.
Researchers are additionally reporting extra sightings of gray whales, which usually feed in Alaska, due to a meals scarcity in that area, Gless stated.
“It shows us how important we are as a region for them that they’re choosing to come here instead,” she stated.
The coastal Bigg’s inhabitants retains rising, she provides, with 10 new calves born final yr.
‘Social element’
Janie Wray, CEO of the North Coast Cetacean Society, says it is tough to pinpoint a particular purpose for the elevated sightings.
She says it could possibly be attributed to phrase spreading among the many cetacean inhabitants about meals within the area.
“They may come not just for the food but also the social component,” stated Wray.
“The [whales] may have certain companions they associate with in Mexico or Hawaii, and through those relationships, learn about different areas in the Salish Sea.”
It is also merely as a result of there being extra whale watchers final yr, she says.
“We had great weather in September and October so perhaps there were more boats on the water. There was just more of an opportunity to see a humpback out there.”
Southern resident sightings rarer
Encounters with different teams of orcas, just like the endangered southern resident killer whales, have been understandably rarer, in keeping with the affiliation, though it didn’t present a quantity for sightings of that group.
Wray says vessels on the water, which have an effect on southern residents’ capacity to listen to, issue into their endangerment within the Salish Sea.
“Resident orcas are so dependent on sound in order to communicate with each other,” stated Wray.
“Because there’s been such an increase in vessel traffic and vessel noise, I think it’s just very difficult for them to find a food source because they are unable to hear.”
Wray additionally notes the southern residents, whose inhabitants has dwindled to only over 70, have a particular urge for food for salmon.
“We don’t have as many salmon along this coast as we once did. It’s not just the increase in noise and vessel traffic, but there’s less food for them to find. It’s a pretty serious situation.”
