Haleigh | M/V Osprey | July 2, 2022 | 5:30 pm
Today was a beautiful day out in the Salish Sea. We felt the winds as we passed through the chunky waters of Cattle Pass. We crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading towards a report of a Humpback Whale that had spent its day feeding south of Lopez Island. We all felt the rolls of the boat, giving us the impression that we were out in open waters! It’s incredible to feel the power of the wind mixed with a high flood. As we slowly approached the reported area of the feeding Humpback Whale, we caught our first glances of a tall exhalation. This animal’s enormous hump moved through the surface in an impressive manner. The surfacing set finished with a gorgeous fluke, followed by an excited cheer from the M/V Osprey passengers.
Humpback Whales stick around the Salish Sea through the summer months to feed on the abundant bait fish. They are eating about 3000lbs of food each day, rebuilding their blubber layer from the previous months of no eating and eventually preparing for their fall migration. The ecosystem shift experienced throughout the Salish Sea, beginning with the overall decline of salmon populations, has led to an increase in small schooling fish like Sand Lances. With more bait fish, we’ve seen an increase in our Harbor Porpoise populations, Harbor Seal populations, Steller’s Sea Lion populations, and now our Humpback Whale population! Of course, with an increase in these populations, the decline in salmon has led to a devastating decline in the Southern Resident Killer Whale population. It’s a bittersweet thing to see Humpback Whales returning and thriving in this ecosystem, but recognize that the impacts of humans have had some serious negative impacts on other marine life.
As we continued to watch this Humpback Whale who was photo ID’d as BCY 1022 “Scratchy” (the scratch marks all along their flukes likely giving them this fitting name). The presence of this baleen whale got everyone on the boat so excited, with the anticipation of each tail fluke reverberating throughout the boat. A final fluke “Goodbye” from Scratchy allowed us to slowly peel off and make our way back home.