Helping Humpbacks

BCX1233 (Raccoon) sounding near Waldron Island

Today was a good adventure with a lot going on out there! As usual, monitoring boat traffic and protecting the whales from vessel strikes and noise disturbances was a priority.

Our Naturalist, waving at a speeding boat in thanks as it slows down to avoid hitting or otherwise disturbing the whales. Today we stopped two speeding vessels in a row as they were racing right into the whale's surfacing path. These actions help prevent disasters for boaters and whales alike.

- Photo taken by a passenger on board

Just a few minutes later we noticed there was some debris right in the whale's path - a tangled gill net! Humpbacks are extremely vulnerable to entanglements; it's estimated that every humpback whale in the world will become entangled at some point during its life. It was safe to step in before the whale approached that area, so our crew took the net out of the water.

Our Naturalist after a job well done. Both Captain and Naturalist worked together to pull this tangled mess out of the water. Much of it was hanging far below the surface and was in the whale's path. The whale passed through this area about 6 minutes later.

- Photo taken by a passenger on board

After clearing the way for the Humpback whale, we continued over to Rosario Straight to get a glimpse of the T034's and T037's. There were several other matrilines around, all spread out over a few miles.

Overall just a FINtastic day out there! A special thanks to each and every passenger for joining us in our protective actions.

Happy Tails!