Student Visit

Weather: 

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Sky: overcast
  • Wind: 15-20 kn NW
  • Water: Little choppy under 1 foot

Visitors/Boats: 

  • The past few days we have seen more pleasure crafts than tour boats and these pleasure crafts get way too close and I can never find them on the radio because it is very hard to know which channel they are on
  • A group students stayed Saturday night to film around the island looking at ecological impacts which around here are mostly due to sea lions trampling all the green and turning it into mud

Ecological

  • The little steller is still around, haven’t noticed any new injuries on any of the sea lions
  • the sea lion that was by the jetty before that seemed lethargic and didn’t really respond to people left for 2 maybe 3 days and is now back in the same spot and it is much more energetic and responsive than before
  • the number of sea lions seems to have gone up from the last census by about 100, will post more numbers below
  • I have been consistently seeing about two humpback whales per day

Maintenance

  • The fence now only needs typically one minor repair per day, the sea lions are getting used to staying away from it
  • I still need to stay on top of clearing them away from certain areas, they seem to not crowd the entrance to the generator room anymore or the burial cairns as much, but they have taken a strong liking to the grass around the lighthouse

Census

  • Sea Lions – 600, most of them are californias
  • Harbour Seals – 30
  • Gulls – 40
  • Canada Geese – 24
  • Fox Sparrow – 3
  • Turnstones – 30
  • Cormorants – 50
  • Sea Otter – 1
  • Humpback Whales – about 2 per day

More Disappointing Eco-Tourism Activity

This afternoon we observed a vessel enter the reserve while a humpback whale was present. The whales typically maintain position in the strong currents for upwards of 30 minutes, appearing to be feeding on plankton as it’s pushed towards them.

Today a humpback whale entered the reserve to hover in the current. Within 2 minutes an eco-tourism vessel came speeding towards it from the Victoria direction. The boat entered the reserve behind the whale, and the whale turned back the way it had come to move away from it and avoid becoming trapped. The whale was deterred from remaining in the reserve as they normally would do and made swiftly towards Victoria as the boat followed it closely away from Race Rocks.

We have observed vessels conducting themselves in this way on many other occasions, but often they leave the reserve quickly when we make ourselves visible.

 

Visitors of All Kinds

Weather: 

  • Wind 5-15 knots SW
  • Sky: Mostly grey, cloudy. Some rain and fog. Periods of partial clearing.
  • Water: Rippled, fairly calm.
  • Visibility: 10-13 miles

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Guy came to pick up our weekend visitors who headed home this afternoon. It was nice to have some company out here on the rock!
  • There were only a handful of whale watching boats in the reserve today since it was quite cloudy and rainy. We were surprised to discover a vessel hovering within 50 meters of a whale within the reserve this evening.

Ecological: 

  • While taking a water temperature reading we accidentally spotted a humpback whale hovering in the main channel! It stayed for about 30 minutes, surfacing approximately every 5 minutes in the same spot, facing towards the current.
  • The seagull chicks have continued to hatch and there are too many to count. They blend in with the yellowing grasses extremely well and have grown to be twice their original size in only a week. We noticed that one chick near the fuel shed hatched but did not survive, while its two nest mates appear to be healthy.
  • There has been one male stellar sea lion on middle rock for the past few days, and appears to not be moving much at all.
  • The goslings are nearly full grown now, and have been swimming

Census

  • 230 Harbour seals
  • 350 adult seagulls and many, many chicks
  • 4 moulting male elephant seals
  • 1 male stellar sea lion
  • A handful of pigeon guillemots
  • 8 adult oyster catchers, at least 7 chicks spotted
  • 1 humpback whale
  • 2 families of geese, and one additional adult pair
  • 1 nest of barn swallows

Whales in the area today and new male elephant seal.

Weather

  • Visibility: 15 Miles
  • Wind:  15-25 NE
  • Sky: cloudy for the most part, bit of sun came through
  • Water: a bit choppy today

Boats/Visitors

  • Had a couple boats cruise by

Ecological

  • same amount of sea lions
  • one large male elephant seal
  • a couple eagles
  • there were also maybe 3 humpbacks and about 4 orcas around

Notes

  • it does still look like there are quite a few sea lions around, will do the census tomorrow

Dangers of a Humpback Comeback

A humpback dives next to a whale-watching Zodiac. The mammals’ unpredictable surfacing sometimes leads to unintended close encounters. Photograph By Prince of Whales Whale Watching

This article is from the Times Colonist newspaper of August 27, 2017

A recent collision between a Victoria whale-watching vessel and a humpback near Race Rocks was “anything but a freak accident,” says researcher Jackie Hildering.
Hildering, a director of the Port McNeill Marine Education and Research Society, isn’t being judgmental or critical. The comeback of humpbacks has been so remarkable on the West Coast that they catch even professionals by surprise.
Last summer, the Pacific Whale Watch Association, which represents whale-watching companies in B.C. and Washington state, reported that humpbacks have made a major comeback. An estimated 21,000 whales are in Pacific Northwest waters, compared with just 1,600 when the whaling industry, which included Vancouver Island, closed in the mid-1960s.

Their behaviour is different from the orca behaviours boaters are accustomed to — which contributes to the problem.

A Zodiac vessel operated by the Prince of Whales company struck a humpback near Race Rocks on Aug. 7. Two people were taken to hospital with injuries.

“The very fact that a whale-watch captain, who knows the behaviour of the whales, can have such an unfortunate accident proves how very real the risk of collision is to boaters i.e., this is anything but a freak accident,” Hildering said in an email to the Times Colonist.

As for ordinary boaters, she said, they are “not aware that the humpbacks are back.” The lack of awareness can lead to interactions that are dangerous for both humans and humpbacks, which can be “astoundingly oblivious of boats, especially when they are feeding.”

Vilifying boaters or whale-watchers for striking or almost striking humpbacks is “not part of the solution” to minimizing the risk of such incidents, she said.

Hildering does not believe that humpback strikes are isolated incidents. She’s concerned that boaters who feel guilty about making contact or nearly hitting humpbacks are reluctant to report what has happened, which reinforces the incorrect idea that such occurrences are rare.

That kind of misunderstanding can lead to dangerous outcomes for both humans and humpbacks, she said. She wants to encourage anyone in a vessel to report any incidents so that the humpback involved can be identified and the nature of their injury recorded.

The non-profit society has been part of a federally funded campaign to increase boater awareness of whales for years, she said. She asks that boaters report any incidents to 1-800-465-4336, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Incident Reporting Line.

“The risk is very real to both the whales and boaters,” she said, citing three more known humpback strikes this summer, off Kitimat on July 2, in Haida Gwaii at the end of June, in which three people were injured and one of them airlifted to hospital and in July off Campbell River, leading to a shoulder injury for a boater.

In the same way that an elk can jump onto a highway, humpbacks can emerge suddenly from the depths, she said. On June 25, the Haida Gwaii Observer reported that two men were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries when a guided fishing boat hit a humpback just outside Naden Harbour.

“It did not breach — it surfaced to take air, a couple of inches showing above the water,” said Sgt. Steve Vince of the Masset RCMP.

Responders saw what appeared to be whale tissue lodged on the hull of the boat, which had been travelling at about 20 knots.

On July 2, a humpback collided with a boat on Bishop Bay near Kitimat. According to MERS, one of the occupants contacted the report line to say: “We were on the lookout and did not see any signs of whales being present. The humpback surfaced out of nowhere right in front of the boat. We could not get out of the way of the whale. The boat slammed the whale and became airborne and we were thrown around the boat. It was terrifying. We want [the collision] to count so that others are more aware of the risk.”

“Simply put, the return of humpbacks from the brink of extinction is a game changer for boaters,” Hildering said and the society is trying to get the word out through presentations, coast-wide signage reading “see a blow go slow” and the media.

There are about 50 signs already posted that illustrate the potential impact between humpbacks and boaters placed on the West Coast.

“They are up in many locations in Victoria. And we are always looking for more sponsors for them,” she said.

The presence of a lot of birds is a sign that whales might be underwater, seeking the same kind of food, krill and herring that baleen whales such as humpbacks eat. Humpback blows can be two metres high, but are hard to see in windy conditions.

Among the differences she cites: Humpbacks do not have bio-sonor as do toothed whales, such as orcas. They do not travel in one direction, are not as easy to see because they spend less time on the surface of the water and just because they dive deep doesn’t mean they’ve gone away. Humpback generally dive for five to eight minutes, but can stay down as long as 20 minutes. “It’s most often impossible to predict where they will surface as they’re travelling in random patterns as they look for food.” in contrast, orcas spend more time on the surface and travel in a predictable direction.

Humpbacks are “extremely unpredictable” and also very acrobatic and prone to random moves especially when they feed. “Sometimes, they’re socializing and they can end up approaching boats,” she said. That would likely prompt boaters to start their engines, “potentially chopping up the whales.”

Anyone who sights a humpback should not approach within 100 metres.

“If a whale surfaces within 100 metres of your vessel, place engine in neutral (or, ideally, shut off the engine) until the whales are beyond 100 metres,” the MERS website states. “Slow down. Speed should not be more than seven knots when 100 to 400 metres from a whale.”
To sponsor a sign (for about $70), contact info@mersociety.org.

clear sky, humpback

Weather: steady west wind, 20-30 knots.  Mostly clear sky.

Ecological:

  • One humpback whale was visible near the reserve for several hours beginning around noon.
  • 3 Male elephant seals have been staying mostly on Great Race, traveling individually to middle rock occasionally.
humpback-dec-4

Humpback between North Rock and William Head

Maintenance: Flushed rainwater barrel pipe to cistern.

Boats: 1 ecotour, caused some disturbance of sealions near jetty as well as on South Islands.

humpback

Weather

North wind, 10 knots in the morning.  Stronger Easterly winds up the straight directed swells into the jetty throughout the day.  Wind direction shifted to West in the evening and picked up to over 30 knots with rain. Visibility dropped to around 1 mile in the afternoon.

Ecological: Before dusk I saw a lone humpback whale surfacing near the reserve.

humpback-dec2

Humpback flukes, NE of Race Rocks

Maintenance

Removed broken fire bricks from bottom of wood stove, cleaned out firebox, and replaced broken bricks with intact ones.  Inspected baffle and tubes.

Recreational Rush Hour

Weather and Sea Conditions

Winds: Light and variable; Sky: Morning periods of fog, afternoon low overcast, evening periods of rain; Visibility: Mostly good ~10 nm, except in fog; Barometer: 102.8 kPa and dropping Saturday evening; Forecast: Wind light becoming easterly 5 to 15 knots Sunday morning.

Vessels in Ecological Reserve

Whale watching vessels: 20 visits were observed in Ecological Reserve (ER).

One commercial dive operator was noted in ER today. This vessel was within 10 meters (or less) from hauled out sea lions, had divers in the water in Middle Channel when there was a lot of traffic including speeding sports fishing charter boats, recreational boaters who had to be waved off and whale watching vessels. The dive flags wre both located low and on the side away from other traffic. The dive operator was also observed speeding through the ER, on departure.

Sport fishing vessels: Total 13 observed in ER. Seven of these were observed speeding through the ER in areas with high concentrations of animals (and human divers) in the water. Three charter vessels were noted in the ER today, one was speeding. Another 10 recreational vessels were noted including three rental boats speeding and three others speeding through the ER. One rental vessel was reported (to the owners) as fishing in the closed area which is a Rockfish Conservation Area. Photos were taken, processed and filed.

Ecology  Humpback Whales were observed feeding about 1nm south of the ER today. Resident Killer Whales were also reported feeding in Central Juan de Fuca today, further out. Biggs (Transient) Killer Whales were active in Race Passage and environs today. They were not observed in the ER but entered Eemdyk Passage and reportedly made a kill at the eastern entrance. Whale watching vessels that crowded in, were observed backing out ihastily as the whales came out and around Rocky Point. More Sea Lion brands were photo-documented (see gallery). This information feeds into research done by Dr. Pat Gearin of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric (NOAA) research on the population abundance and trends, and the distribution and movement of both species of sea lions.

Visitors  None.

Maintenance and Operations  Regular chores.Made three boxes of kindling. Adjusted screen door.  Ace status achieved quickly on fly patrol.

 

Pearson Students Have a Whale of a Time

Weather and Sea Conditions Winds: Winds were variable swinging all the way around the compass starting with east-southeast at 10 -15 knots in the early morning. It backed through northeast and northwest then to light west southwest by early afternoon. By late afternoon it had passed through southeast again still turning counterclockwise to northeast. Sky: Heavy overcast with showers in the morning then partially clearing. Afternoon sunny. Visibility: Mostly good 15 nm, except in fog. Barometer: 101.4 kPa rising Friday afternoon Forecast: Winds westerly 10 to 20 late this afternoon then diminishing to light after midnight. Periods of rain ending this evening.

Vessels in Ecological Reserve Whale watching vessels: Fourteen were observed working in Ecological Reserve (ER). One of the whale watchers sped into the ER while there were Killer Whales in Middle Channel. Contact was made by VHF radio and they left slowly without responding on the VHF. Later three whale watching vessels were “herding” the killer whales around and inside Rosedale. By rushing ahead of the whales and placing themselves in their path and by “squeezing” the whales in towards the shore of the ER, two of the vessels put themselves into positions where they were observed backing in reverse into the wind and waves and away from the killer whales. After this, we noted that one adult male killer whale was breaching very close to the two zodiacs. Two much larger whale watching vessels were observed using a similar tactic with a Humpback Whale mid afternoon. No other commercial operators, noted in ER today. Sport fishing vessels: Two noted in ER today travelling reasonably slowly through Middle Channel.

Ecology: Six to seven Killer Whales graced Race Rocks Ecological Reserve with their presence today. The group was made up of one large male, one slightly smaller male with a nick on his dorsal fin about a third of the way up, one small and one very small individual and two or three females, one with a nick on her dorsal fin. Photos are out with a query to confirm their identification. These animals swam over directly from Church Point late morning and came in and out of the ER at least three times. They were also observed going into the entrance of Pedder Bay and through Eemdyk Passage behind Bentink Island.  Two Humpback Whales, one large and one small were observed feeding about one mile south of the ER and one Humpback was “chased” into the ER by whale watching boats. Five young Northern Elephant Seals came ashore and spent the afternoon sleeping over by the energy building. Two adult Bald Eagles were seen in the ER today, causing the gulls to flock off with every pass. A high abundance of Moon Jellies was observed in the plankton over the last few days and sea surface temperature has dropped to ~10oC with fairly high (for here) salinity of 32.2 ppt.

Sustainability: Sustainability is not just about washing the windows with an eco-friendly product, it also means engaging young people with the natural environment and in particular with the ocean. The ocean has been called the blue elephant in the classroom, as it is a very large presence on our blue planet that is not included well in curriculum. Pearson College is making a difference to ocean literacy with their Marine Science programming and today new marine scientists were inspired to care for the ocean for future generations.

Visitors: Laura Verhegge and two Marine Science classes came on learning field trips to Race Rocks today. Kyle transported everyone aboard Second Nature including distinguished guest, Felix Butschek. Felix is on a yearlong tour around the world as a Rolex Scholar with the Our World – Underwater Scholarship Society in Europe. Felix is a Pearson College alumnus who studied Marine Science with Laura, was active in the Pearson diving program and is now a promising young marine scientist with a serious passion for remote polar seas. It was nice to welcome Felix back to Race Rocks and see him inspiring the first year students during their fun biodiversity explorations and observations. The second class enjoyed observing Killer Whales swim right in front of us as we stood on the rock watching.

Maintenance and Operations: Regular chores. Both fences repaired. Windows washed in Eco-guardian house.