In the afternoon of Aug 3rd Kula and Cascadia left the harbor in search of whales and wildlife. They traveled all the way down to Active pass, a winding waterway that separates Galiano Island from Mayne Island. This passage is named after the USCS Active, a US navy vessel that was the first vessel to navigate the pass in 1855. This passage is heavily used by BC ferries, freighter ships and recreational boaters as well as a plethora of marine life such as Seals, Sealions, Porpoises, Orcas and Humpbacks.

On the East side of Galiano were Slate and her calf traveling and fluking. Fluking is what we call it when a humpback, or other whale, lifts it’s tail into the air as they dive, allowing for a clear shot at the underside, or fluke, of the tail. These flukes are how we ID our humpbacks. All boats have catalogs on them, with ID photos for each whale that has been encounter in the Salish Sea. If we ever come across a new whale, or a new baby, we try to get a clear shot of that tail to add it to the catalog for later prints. We also collect photos of our known whales to update outdated photo IDs as they often come back sporting new scaring and marks, which can make it difficult to ID them if they are absent for several years. Knowing which whales travel through our region each year is important for a number a reasons. We provide our sightings data to non profit organizations who monitor humpback whale populations and migration habits. It lets us know if we have new, adult humpbacks in the area, and can provide us with valuable information on the social behaviors of our whales. The Salish Sea lost it’s Humpback whales in the early 1900’s from whaling activity, but they made a return in the late 90’s, with the first reported sighting of a humpback near Race Rocks in 1997, and the first confirmed report was of Big Mamma, a humpback known well to us now, in 2000 and again in 2002. Since then Humpback whales have returned to our waters summer after summer. These lovable giants have worked their way into the hearts of many people in the islands and Slate and her new calf have been no different.

We’ve encountered this pair on many trips this year and each time they fill us with joy as we watch them playing, diving and feeding in our waters. Knowing they will leave in a few short months to head back to the breeding grounds we can only hope they will return to us next year.

Below are some photos taken by marine naturalists Ryan Uslu and Val Watson.

August 3rd 3:30 - Slate and Calf by Active Pass

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