It was another day of Humpback Soup! The humpbacks are unique in the way that they have “favourite” places to hang out. This isn’t based on anything too complicated. If there is a place with a ton of food for them, they tend to spend their time there. This spot lately has been close to Halibut Bank. Ocean banks, also known as underwater banks or seamounts, are elevated areas of the seafloor that rise sharply from the surrounding oceanic basin. These underwater features are known for their high productivity and play a crucial role in marine ecosystems. There are several reasons why ocean banks are highly productive: upwelling causing nutrient concentration is an important one since this leads to plankton production drawing in lots of animals such as schooling fish that along with the larger plankton these humpbacks will eat.

We saw humpbacks in the area on both the morning and afternoon tours on September 16th, in a bunch of smaller groups as part of a larger aggregation in the area. All the whales we saw today seemed to be doing one main thing: Eating! They were moving in and out of the area, doing sporadic diving, and being a little unpredictable where they surfaced again afterwards. This is a good indicator that they are changing direction under the surface in search/pursuit of prey. We saw all of the following whales near Halibut Bank throughout the day:

MMX0355, Honu (BCX1856), Uluka (BCX1702), Yogi (BCY0409), Snoopy (BCY0770), Anvil (BCZ0410), Crackle (BCY0523 calf 2019), Divot (BCX1057), Raptor (BCY0458), and 1 Unknown.

In addition to all these whales, we also got to see other species. The Harbour seals are always fun to see, as the little “rock sausages” are so cute and little compared to most of the other Marine Mammals on the tours! They are not only cute but well-adapted as well. They have a streamlined body to help them move through the water more efficiently, they have a blubber layer under their skin to help keep them warm but also to store energy. They also have amazing camouflage that helps them remain undetected in the water while they fish and are surprisingly social. We often see these guys hauled out on the rocks in large groups. This comes partially from a “safety in numbers” area, but also so they can socialize with each other. It’s not as obvious with these guys as with their pinniped cousins the sea lions, since the Harbour Seals are much quieter.

All of these animals were amazing to see during these tours, and the Marine Naturalists Val Watson and Ella Hillbrecht got some great photos which you can see below!

September 16, 2023 - Humpbacks near Halibut bank!

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