EncDate:25/03/23 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:13

ObservBegin:09:30 AM

ObservEnd:02:55 PM

Vessel:Orcinus

Staff:Dave Ellifrit

Pods:J

LocationDescr:Haro Strait

Start Latitude:48 35.29

Start Longitude:123 12.19

End Latitude:48 42.68

End Longitude:123 16.33

 

EncSummary:

After receiving reports of J pod in Haro Strait from various sources, Dave headed down to Snug Harbor and left in the boat at 0930. About ten minutes later the first whales were found off Kellett Bluff and the encounter began 0940. J22, J41, and J58 were all milling and foraging off the bluff, spread out at first but they eventually came together to mill and possibly share a fish. The SR3 research vessel “Helen” reported that J19 and J40 were several hundred yards north of the whales off the bluff but Dave was never able to make it to them. After J22, J41, and J58 finally moved on toward the north end of Henry Island, there was a big gap between groups heading north. It was over 25 minutes before the next group began rolling around the south end of Kellett Bluff. This was the J31s, J35, J57, and J46. They hugged the bluff before oozing offshore and spreading out a little north of the bird rookery. J46, J56, and J57 remained tight and were socializing as they moved north. J31 and J35 would occasionally move off for brief periods before moving back to the socializing threesome. Once Dave was finished with this group, other whales were hard to find and it was another ten minutes before J27 was spotted more than a half mile west out in the strait. Another whale was several hundred yards to the northwest of J27. This was J44. J27 and J44 once came loosely together briefly before spreading out again as they traveled up Haro.

And then whales became really hard to find. The very few whales in sight had already been photographed and more were not materializing. After a heads up almost an hour later about some whales all the way over on the Canadian side south of Gooch Island, that was the next place to go. There were a few spread out whales in the area with J37 and J59 being most obvious. J49 was also around but he soon disappeared. There was another female in the general vicinity of the J37s and this was J16. J16 briefly came tightly together with J37 and J59 as they headed north before moving away again. J42 was also seen in the distance to the north. Reports of whales heading up the Stuart Island shoreline drew Dave back across the strait to the American side. All three of the J35s were encountered in a tight group on the way back across and were at least three quarters of a mile west of Turn Point. J36 was also somewhere in the general area heading north by herself. After another half hour gap between whales, J26 appeared northwest of Turn Point. He actively chased a salmon for about five minutes before catching it and turning back north. About ten minutes later, J27 brought up the rear heading slowly north by himself. All of J pod seemed to have moved north towards Swanson Channel by that point and the encounter ended at 1455 mid-Haro Strait a little south of the south end of Swanson Channel.