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We came across a group of CA's/U's west bound at 1539 in mid-Strait, and we left them at 1620 slightly north east of Pillar Point still in mid-Strait traveling west.

Notes-Comments:

These whales are not commonly seen in the Pacific Northwest. One of the young males has very deep tooth rakes on the leading edge of the dorsal fin, and at least two pseudostalked barnacles (Xenobalanus globicipitis) hanging from the trailing edge of the dorsal fin near the top. Pseudostalked barnacles of this species are generally associated with cetaceans in lower latitudes and in the tropics. They are relatively common in tropical ecotypes of killer whales, and 8.66% of the bottlenose dolphins near Santa Monica, CA have them. We will be encountering more of these uncommon visitors and their charismatic epifauna as we extend our research operations to coastal and continental shelf waters this winter in order to better define SRKW Critical Habitat. Mark Malleson is contracting his survey skills to the Center for Whale Research for this purpose; and, Ken Balcomb is loaning the use of his twin-engine Zodiac Titan for safe and efficient survey operations offshore. Serengeti is a platform of opportunity for offshore familiarization.