Marine Education and Research Society says staff with BC Ferries recovered a deceased humpback whale on Monday that is believed to be “Notcho.”
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A humpback whale that was reported to have been struck by a B.C. ferry about 10 days earlier appears to have died, according to the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS).
MERS executive director Caitlin Birdsall said the dead whale was seen on the evening of Oct. 26 by the Grace Islands at the same location where the ferry had reported hitting a whale. She said the animal was observed surfacing after the strike with significant blood in the water.
On Monday, Birdsall said BC Ferries staff did see a deceased whale in the water and it was recovered by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. She noted that MERS cannot say for certain the deceased animal is the same as the one involved in the earlier strike, but said it was in the same area and within the same timeline, making it likely to be the same whale.
MERS believed the whale was “Notcho,” Birdsall said, but added the connection was made only after the group received photos from a member of the public who lives on Gambier Island. Birdsall said a member of the Humpbacks of the Salish Sea project, Tasli Shaw, was able to match markings on the pectoral flipper to a long-term data set to name the whale as Notcho under the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration.
Birdsall said MERS has sightings of Notcho from about 2016 in the area, and that the whale is known to go to Hawaii to breed before coming to B.C. waters to feed in the summer. She said the group does not know Notcho’s age.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is leading the investigation and assessment.
In a statement, BC Ferries said it has measures in place to help reduce the risk of vessel strikes, including crew training, marine mammal reporting procedures and operational practices intended to reduce interactions with whales. The company said it continues to review its practices and work with federal agencies and marine conservation partners to identify opportunities to further reduce the risk.
Birdsall said people can also take steps to prevent whale strikes in B.C., including slow-down zones, the whale report alert system and acoustic and infrared detection.
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