Highest number of humpback whales recorded in Salish Sea | 24CA News
Researchers say almost 400 humpback whales had been noticed within the Salish Sea this yr, the very best whole ever recorded.
There have been 396 particular person humpback whales documented within the Salish Sea, together with 34 moms with their first-year calves, in accordance with the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration, a set of teams that collate sightings from researchers, ecotourism captains, naturalists and citizen scientists.
In 2017, 293 whales had been documented.
The news comes after a minimum of 4 humpbacks had been lately discovered lifeless on B.C. seashores within the span of some weeks.
Tasli Shaw, undertaking lead for Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, says there could be a false impression that humpbacks are simply passing by way of the Salish Sea. In actuality, the whales return to the identical areas to feed and might keep for months at a time.
“They come here very specifically to feed, and they’re very experienced and very skilled at what they do,” she stated.
“They know the best places to come and find prey and how best to capture it. So we actually see the same individuals year after year.”
Shaw says the gradual however regular rise in humpback whales traces again to the ban on business whaling put in place 55 years in the past.
Jackie Hildering with the Marine Education and Research Society says as extra humpbacks are noticed within the Salish Sea — which incorporates the Juan de Fuca Strait, the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound — it’s important to guard them from threats, akin to fishing gear entanglement and delivery visitors.
“We are so lucky [to have] a second chance with giants,” Hildering stated.
Hildering says a part of her society’s mission is to train boaters methods to keep away from collisions with marine mammals and what to do if one happens. That mission is extra necessary than ever, she says, as the Salish Sea has develop into the whale equal of a “busy school zone.”
Shaw says it stays to be seen if the quantity of humpbacks will proceed to rise.
“Humpback whales can move around the coast, of course, so it’s hard to really predict what the continued humpback comeback will look like in the future.”
Hildering says the rising numbers increase questions. Some of the rise, she stated, could be traced to humpbacks shifting from elsewhere.
“It’s not just population growth. It’s too fast for that, so it’s also shifting from somewhere else. What is that telling us about a changing environment in terms of temperature and prey?”
