Major Project

BC Whales’ protection of the North-Wests whale populations

These Humpback whales pictured as my opening image have just come up for a bubble net feed. They are a group of well documented whales, that work together to hunt herring. Pictured are two of the 8-10 individuals that work together. These two are called Hook and Amy. Their ID’s can be found in the NCCS (North Coast Cetacean Society) Humpback whale catalogue. The whales need to coordinate their timing with one another, this is important to prevent herring from escaping their bubble nets. I feel this is an image that very well represents this region, the whales come here specifically to feed. The nutrient rich feeding grounds and deep waters provide the perfect location for over 550 Humpback whales to spend the summer months.

Fin Island research station, based in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, is the main research station for BC Whales’ monitoring of Humpback, Fin whales and Orca. Hydrophones are located on four different islands - the formation of which creates a square shape. This square creates an area which allows the team to identify the exact locations within the square, from which the whales are vocalising. A team of interns and members of BC Whales, work together to collect and analyse the data collected.

Humpback whale IDs form a very important aspect for collecting data on the whales coming to this region of Canada. As a whale dives down, the back side of the fluke (the tail) is photographed, as seen in the image. Each whale has unique markings on the back of its fluke, which help to distinguish it from any other whale, as does the trailing edge of the fluke.  Some Humpbacks may well have notches in their fluke from ship strikes, or rake marks from Orca attacks. The two flukes above, are two examples of how different flukes can look. The second fluke is from a whale known as “Jazz” due to the music like markings on its fluke. The top image is on a very foggy day and appears black and white due to the flat light but is in fact in colour.

Humpback whales will sleep for a few hours after having fed intensively for most of the day. Lying at the surface, they are still able to breathe and they drift with the current as they do this. But once they finish sleeping they wake themselves up with a series of breaches and head lobs. This is where the whale will dive down very quickly, then spring up with full power out of the water, either with its whole body, or just with its head. This sudden burst of energy brings them out of a sleeping phase and straight into a “ready for feeding and action” phase. So it is very helpful for the team when they see a whale that has been sleeping, suddenly take a quick dive, as they know a breach will be coming. One Humpback has even been recorded doing 125 head lobs across the fjord in a row.

The team at BC Whales conduct boat surveys, which allow them to get out on the water and see what the whales are doing in other places in the fjords. The same whale could be near to Fin Island one day and in a completely different location the next, so it is a good way of tracking their movements, as well as assessing their total numbers. The boat surveys also allow for some drone time, from which lidar work is undertaken and blow samples are collected. The navigation system on the boat helps to plan the route for the survey, but also is an important tool for knowing where the shallow areas of water are, or rocks that stick out from underneath the surface. Below, are two different images, one with the research boat and the other, with the navigation system.

There are two main areas of drone work undertaken, these are lidar work and blow samples. The lidar work takes a photograph of the whale from directly above, using a laser to calculate the length of the whale. This can then be used to estimate an approximate age of the individual. The blow samples are used to collect DNA samples from the whales. These samples are analysed in a lab and then entered onto a database. However, whilst the drone project takes place, fluke IDs are taken simultaneously, which enables the team to match the whales in the catalogue with their DNA. In recording the DNA, the team can then also find out where the whale migrates to and from each year, whether it is Mexico or Hawaii. 

Visual scans are completed every hour from 6am until 9pm, with each scan lasting 20 minutes. During these scans, marine mammals are identified when spotted, using either the human eye, binoculars or the big eyes (a big telescope). When a marine mammal has been spotted, it is noted down on the tablet, which contains a table of results of the scans. The location where the animal was spotted (what zone it was in), at what bearing it was in relation to the zero marker created, and the time, will all be noted. The same is done for boats and various vessels. This is useful for analysing to what extent boats are affecting the whales’ behaviour. 

Humpback whales can often be found feeding in groups of around 8-12 individuals, but may also feed in smaller groups of around 4 individuals. Working in teams, each whale has a specific role to play. Driving herring to the surface through a series of bubbles and calls, the whales work together to frighten the small fish into tight knit bait balls at the surface, while they then launch an attack from below. Certain whales will continuously call as the others launch up and feed on the herring. The roles will then reverse when it is time for the other whales to feed. Working as a team, the whales are able to gather up far more herring with each mouthful than if they were working individually. There is often one whale which will always get the better mouthful, bursting higher out of the water during the feed. The images below are from a bubble net feed, showing the whales as they dive down, as well as the moment they feed on the herring.

Early morning mist and fog is a common sight in this temperate rainforest. Unlike tropical rainforests, here it is much cooler and generally a lot wetter. Often one can be covered in a fog blanket which can engulf the island for a few days at a time. However, these times provide an opportunity to catch up on a back log of whale IDs, as some clear days are so manic, that there is no time to record the data, only to note it down. These foggy days are put to great use, although the scans cannot be completed, many other activities can be, including doing repairs on the research station. 

Solar panels power the research station and all the hydrophones at Fin Island - it is important to the team that they leave as smaller a carbon footprint as possible, so the solar power is a great way to run the station. It allows it to be carbon neutral even after boat usage is taken into account. BC whales aims to improve the whales’ lives, by clearing up the underwater noise pollution in their waters. This is vitally important, as noise travels underwater for miles, so a ship 20 miles away or more, can still affect the behaviour of a whale that is visiting and feeding near Fin island. 

BC Whales also monitor the different eco-types of Orca passing by the research station and its outpost (The Wall Islets). There are 3 different eco-types in these waters, these are; Residents, Transients and Offshore. The most commonly seen are the Residents, they are salmon hunting Orca, and their preferred species is the Chinook (due to its large and fatty size) . While Transients hunt mammals including seals, sea lions, porpoises and baleen whales. The Offshore are the least known of all 3 species and rarely venture into the fjords, but they are believed to eat sharks. The Resident Orca in this region are known as the ‘Northern Residents’, they travel between southern Alaska (in the north) and the Northern end of Vancouver island (in the south). Transients (which are pictured below) travel all along the coastline from Washington state, all the way up to Alaska. Northern Residents and Transients tend to avoid each other. The Residents when with calves will get very defensive around the Transients, as they are often worried that they will be attacked. 

BC Whales work alongside various other charities, and receive some funding from other charities such as: Saveourseas Foundation; Tides Canada; Lush and various other smaller organisations. The money given by these funding partners have provided them with the hydrophone projects, the drone project and any repairs needed on the research station. WWF also fund some of the people who work at BC Whales, such as the person who is in charge of running the software for the hydrophones. This is important, as he setup the localisation part of hydrophones, which allows them to locate exactly where the whales are within the fjords, as they are heard on the hydrophone. Their most important relationship is with a couple of local gitgats (First Nation people), who help to patrol the fjords in search of boats not biding by the rules. They ensure that people do not go too close to whales. On one occasion, they found this dead Minke whale, on which they performed a necropsy and found that it had been killed by Orcas. The carcass was then left on the shore for the wolves and other scavengers.

A world surrounded by fog. On many of the 115 days I worked for BC Whales,  the day would start in the same manner, rather cold, foggy and gloomy. However, nothing quite compares to seeing a Transient Orca pass the cabin early in the morning on the stillest of days through the gloom. I would hear the distant sound of the blows and then before I knew it, the whale was right there, passing by. Captured here, is the Transient Orca as it passes around the corner, in search of its next meal, possibly a harbour seal on a small island just around the point seen in the picture. Transient Orca sometimes hunt the Humpback whale calves, so females with a calf may travel with an ‘escort’ female, who helps to protect the calf from Transient Orca.

The Wall Islets (BC Whales’) outpost on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, is another much smaller research station, which is used for visual scans and collecting data out in Caamano sound. With a view in 4 different directions, it is an ideal vantage point for seeing Orca passing through the fjords and also for witnessing the bubble net feeding of Humpback whales. The setup is much the same as on Fin Island, the only difference being a maximum of two people can live on this island at a time and there is no internet here.  It is a truly remote location, with views of gigantic mountains to the east and the open ocean to the west. It is the perfect location to get away from the world and engulf oneself in the whales and marine world. 

Fin whales have become a regular sight almost every day, from July to the end of October. This photograph was taken on a day when around 15 Fin whales and 25 Humpbacks were in a cove together, all resting and then coming up to feed. The noise one hears when they rise for air and blow together, sounds like canons firing. The Fin whale is the second largest animal on the planet. It is one which cannot be heard vocalising on the hydrophone, due to the frequency at which it calls, which is too low for the technology settings.

Fin island is surrounded by pine trees. In all areas of the island, trees grow. One day the team took a walk to look for a good point to put in a mast, to connect the nearby village of Hartley Bay, with the Fin Island research station. The aim is to be able to send real time data from the hydrophones, straight to the village. This would allow BC Whales to run throughout the year instead of seasonally, as during the winter months, storms are too dangerous to be trapped on the island. In addition to this, most of the whales generally leave the area, going to warmer waters to give birth. They will not feed again until they return.

Ferries pass on certain days of the week, travelling from Vancouver and heading north towards Alaska as pictured above. They will often be completing a seven day cruise, which passes straight past Fin Island, they do this to cut down on the miles travelled, by taking the inside scenic route. When a ferry draws relatively near, a sound will be heard on the hydrophones and this sound continues to get louder and louder, as they get closer to the research station. We can easily turn this sound down, however for the whales they cannot. It is vitally important that we spread awareness of the dangers of boats like this coming through the fjord. There is a proposed tanker route to start from 2023 right across this fjord which will have a huge impact on this fragile marine life and the work of BC Whales.

The world’s great whale populations, if returned to their pre-whaling numbers, could offset around 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. So the protection of these magnificent species, could be the best hope for a bright future. This is the main goal of the team at BC Whales. If we can restore the whale populations year after year, then we have a chance of restoring the balance of both the world’s ecosystems and the carbon in the atmosphere down to a safe level.