Encounter Summary:

On the morning of 12/21/16, Dave Ellifrit was notified by Jane Cogan that there were J pod calls audible on the hydrophones. Dave called Melisa Pinnow and they both left Snug Harbor at 10:46 aboard Orcinus. At 11:03, Dave and Melisa arrived on scene with J36, J39, and J52 off of Bellevue Point traveling in a loose group south down Haro Strait. The three whales paused to forage for a few minutes and J39 breached once before splitting off from J36 and J52 and moving offshore. J26 was a little further south and inshore of the other three, also traveling south.

Dave and Melisa then moved on to find other whales and at 11:25, spotted J35, J46, J47, and L87 traveling in a tight group south a few miles off of Deadman’s Bay. J35 and L87 were rolling around together and J46 tail slapped. The group of four then turned and started making their way across Haro Strait toward Seabird Point, Discovery Island, in deteriorating sea conditions.

At 11:37, a social group made up of J31, J37, J40, J41, J49, and J51 was found heading toward Discovery Island too. This group was very active with aerial scans, spy hops, and other above water behaviors. At 12:12, J26 was found again as he was quickly closing in on Seabird Point. L87 appeared again too, and this time J45 was with him. The encounter ended a mile east of Seabird Point at 12:28 in very choppy seas.