The sun was shining bright on our three vessels as we left the harbour on the morning of July 5th. All three boats cruised through Northumberland Channel and into Dodd Narrows where we got to see a ton of current raging through the narrow passageway. This is not only fun for our fast boats to play in, but we also see an ecological impact on the area due to these currents. When the currents are running hard, there is a lot of turbulence created in the water. This will introduce oxygen when at the surface and helps to mix the water column. When the water mixes, it draws cooler water from the deep and brings it to the surface. The interesting thing about water is that it’s ability to dissolve oxygen increases the colder it is, so this cool water coming to the surface can absorb more oxygen which can be used by the primary producers like phytoplankton to reproduce and grow. More primary producers means more animals that can feed on them, and therefore more wildlife. Certain species thrive with higher oxygen levels as well and are found only here in our range but would be common on the West Coast where this level of oxygen is naturally introduced through wave action. The tide was so low that we got to see a few of these species, like the surf anemones, large beds of California Mussles, and giant barnacles.

We continued into the waters of the Southern Gulf Islands, spreading the boats into different channels to do our best searching. One boat went into Stuart Channel, searching south until reaching Huston Channel, making a quick stop for some Harbour Seals along the way. In the group that they stopped with, there was a brand new baby that everyone was very excited about! We could tell it was young from its size, and from its extra clumsiness when it tried to move. It even fell into a crack in the rock while we watched. Luckily it continued on, unfazed. This boat continued east and decided to try their luck searching in the Strait of Georgia. One of the other boats did the same method, going out of Gabriola Pass to the North, making a quick stop at Stinky Rocks to look at the Sea Lions, before continuing the search for whales. While two boats were out searching the Strait, one continued their journey South inside the Islands.

It was the boats in the Strait that has success in finding whales, as the Semi-covered boat spotted some blows and a tail sinking below the waves nearly immediately upon leaving Porlier Pass.

This whale seemed to be feeding in the area, not moving around too much. They let the other boats know and all three got the chance to watch this one. It wasn’t fluking too often (meaning lifting its tail) but we got two decent enough looks at it to get a photo. At first, it was confusing, as it had a huge scar on the left side of its tail. We thought it was possible that this whale could be one we already knew, but that had this large scar covering part of its tail we would usually use to recognize. As the Naturalists dug through the catalogues we realized that this was the case, but adding to the difficulty was the fact that this whale was only seen one other time and wasn’t actually in these catalogues. We had seen it before though, on June 7th, but it has changed a lot since then! The whale doesn’t have a nickname, just a code: HW-MN0510718. Soon it will have a Keta number as well through our work with the NGO, Keta Coastal Conservation, and down the line it will be assigned it’s official BC code.

Here is a photo of the change to this poor whale due to some injury:

We hope this whale continues to heal properly and that we continue to see it for many years to come!

It eventually came time to leave HW-MN0510718 behind and our boats started to head back towards Nanaimo. There was one last stop in store for us though at the Gabriola Bluffs! Here the boats got to see the Nesting Bald Eagles, as well as the cormorants along the towering sandstone cliffs. It was a great end to the trip! During the tour, the onboard Marine Naturalists Val Watson, Hayleigh Hilbert, and Lucy Willis were snapping photos in addition to giving the guests information about all the wildlife they saw, and those photos can be viewed below!

July 5, 2024, 10:30 am - A humpback with a new look

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