EncDate:30/05/22 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:30

ObservBegin:05:33 PM

ObservEnd:05:59 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Brendon Bissonnette

Pods:Transients

LocationDescr:South of Trial Island

Start Latitude:48 21.2

Start Longitude:123 17.9

End Latitude:48 20.4

End Longitude:123 14.4

 

EncSummary:

Mark and Brendon were returning from an afternoon whale watching trip after sighting an uncommon group of killer whales close to Victoria consisting of the T030Bs, T172, and at least some members of the T146s, when the decision was made to confirm if all of the T146s were present. The T146s are infrequent visitors to the Salish Sea, having most often been encountered near Haida Gwaii and on the outer coast. 
Mark and Brenden mobilized Mike 1 and departed Victoria harbour at 1715. They arrived on scene with the whales at 1733 south of Trial Island as they were traveling quickly east with the flood. Based on the sheer number of whales, it was assumed that most, if not all, of the T146s, were present – including T146D, who stranded on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska in the summer of 2021. 
Mark repositioned the vessel to the right of the animals to account for the backlighting on the whales’ left sides, and after a good look, it was clear that T146D was not present…but coincidentally, another former strandee whale was! Brendon reviewed his photos and recognized the small nick on the trailing edge of one of the female’s dorsal fins to be consistent with T046C2, a 13-year-old female who was successfully rescued after becoming trapped in a bay off Aristazabal Island back in 2013.
Mike 1 ended the encounter at 1759 ~4 nm south of Discovery Island after taking some decent right-side pictures. The group of nine whales was traveling southeast in a tight group on a line for Admiralty Inlet. No predation was observed during their brief encounter.