Goodness Grey-cious!

It was a quiet Wednesday, both literally and figuratively. Only a handful of vessels were moving through our survey area in Swanson Channel, and no hikers were visiting Oaks Bluff. I had just calibrated the theodolite and was sitting down to begin my scan when I heard the distinctive whoosh of a whale exhale below me. I leapt from my chair and peered through the trees, spotting the whale right below me. 

At first, I thought it was a humpback, as I had seen one earlier in the day, but a closer look left me stunned: I was looking at a grey whale! With a cheer, I raced to grab my camera and started shooting.

Grey whales are infrequent visitors to the Southern Gulf Islands. They rely on sandy seabeds to forage for crustaceans, a habitat that is few and far between in the rocky channels of the SGIs. While parts of the Salish Sea host grey whales more regularly, like the “Sounders” of North Puget Sound, most migrating grey whales stick to the west coast of Vancouver Island when travelling between Mexico and the Arctic. 

The whale I spotted stayed close to the surface between dives, looking like a phantom as it glided through the water. It swam in a small loop in front of me before continuing east, never straying more than a couple of hundred meters from shore. I managed to snap some photos of the markings on its back and tail, which will help with future identification.

Just before the whale rounded the corner, a vessel appeared. As the Vessel Restricted Zones do not come into effect until June 1st, this vessel was allowed to transit through the area. I watched as it slowly passed over the exact spot where the whale had surfaced only minutes earlier. Luckily, there was no collision, but with the whale remaining so close to the surface, it easily could have been struck by the vessel without the operator ever seeing it.

That possibility has been on many people’s minds lately. Over the past few weeks, visitors to Oaks Bluff have frequently asked about the dozens of grey whales found dead and severely emaciated along the coast of BC and Washington. Others wanted to discuss the recent incident near Vancouver’s Stanley Park, where a jet ski accidentally struck a grey whale. 

While monitoring the Pender VRZ, I regularly track jet skis travelling at high speeds, sometimes in ways that are unsafe for themselves, other boaters, and marine mammals. The fastest jet ski I tracked was travelling at 114 km/hr, a speed that would leave little time to react if a whale suddenly surfaced ahead. A collision at that speed could cause serious injuries or fatalities to both the whale and the jet ski rider.

Education is key to preventing incidents like these. Every trip on the ocean comes with the possibility of encountering a whale, and boaters should remain alert at all times. Scanning for blows or dorsal fins should become second nature, just like watching for logs or other hazards in the water. For boaters wanting to learn more about safely sharing the water with whales, the Marine Education and Research Society offers a whale-safe boating course with practical guidance for reducing disturbance and avoiding dangerous encounters. You can learn more about the course in this Raincoast article.

Fortunately for this grey whale, the only nearby vessel was moving slowly, and the encounter ended without incident. I watched this whale disappear beneath the surface as it continued eastward. If I had to summarize the experience in one sentence, I would borrow these words from Taylor Swift: “It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well.”