2023 Another Record-Breaking Year for Bigg’s Killer Whale Sightings in Salish Sea
Bigg’s Killer Whale “T-Party”. Credit: Bethany Shimasaki, Western Prince Whale Watching
2023 Another Record-Breaking Year for Bigg’s Killer Whale Sightings in Salish Sea
Previous Sightings Record Smashed with Two Months Still Remaining in 2023
SEATTLE, WA & VANCOUVER, BC - November 8, 2023 - 2023 is already a record-breaking year for sightings of Bigg’s, or mammal-hunting, killer whales, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) and Orca Behavior Institute (OBI).
OBI compiles whale sightings reports from professional whale watchers, regional sightings groups, and community scientists throughout the Salish Sea of British Columbia and Washington State. Based on these reports, which are confirmed with photographs, there were 1,270 unique sightings of Bigg’s killer whales in the Salish Sea this year through October 31. This surpasses the previous annual record of 1,220 unique sightings, set in 2022, with two months still remaining in the year. According to OBI, a “unique sighting” is a sighting of a distinct group of Bigg’s killer whales on a particular day. While the same group of whales may be reported by multiple sources, OBI does not count duplicate sightings toward their official count, making the volume of Bigg’s sightings this year all the more impressive.
“Ten years ago, we were only getting 15% of that”, shares Monika Wieland Shields, director of OBI. “This is the ninth year out of the last ten that the record has been broken. Only 2020 showed a slight dip, probably due to decreased observation due to Covid-19.”
“What’s happening with Bigg’s killer whales right now is truly remarkable to witness,” says Erin Gless, executive director of the PWWA, a group of 30 professional ecotourism companies with a commitment to education, conservation, and responsible wildlife viewing throughout the Salish Sea. “People once referred to them as ‘transient’ killer whales because sightings were so rare”, continues Gless, “but now we’re seeing them almost daily, and we have their food to thank for that.”
Bigg’s killer whales feed on marine mammals, primarily seals, sea lions, and porpoises. Considered competition with local fisheries, sea lions and harbor seals were once the targets of government-funded bounty programs in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia. The bounty programs ended in the 1960s and 1970s, and seals and sea lions, along with all marine mammals, are now protected in both the US and Canada. Since their protection, populations of seals and sea lions have rebounded in the Salish Sea, luring Bigg’s killer whales into local waters, much to the delight of whale watchers.
When it comes to the region’s other killer whales, salmon-eating Southern Residents, the trend is quite different. “It’s looking like it will be the second lowest year for their presence on record, with only 2021 coming in with fewer days,” says OBI’s Shields.
Chinook salmon, the preferred prey of endangered Southern Resident killer whales, have declined in both size and abundance over recent decades, threatened by rising ocean temperatures, loss of spawning habitat, chemical pollution, and predation from dozens of natural predators, including humans.
“Until we restore the major Salish Sea Chinook salmon runs,” says Shields, “particularly on the Fraser River, it's clear the Southern Residents will continue to spend more time on the outer coast where they have the chance to encounter a wider variety of salmon runs from different river systems.”
A Bigg’s killer whale spyhops near Vancouver, BC. Photo: Ashley Keegan, Wild Whales Vancouver
A breaching Bigg’s killer whale. Photo: Brendon Bissonnette, Prince of Whales Whale Watching
A Bigg’s killer whale swims with a Washington State Ferry in the background. Photo: Sara Hysong-Shimazu, Maya’s Legacy
