The day began quietly on September 5th, and it remained calm and slow. Throughout the early morning hours, there were social calls from humpbacks, as well as, chirping Pacific White-sided Dolphins – both in Blackfish Sound and in Johnstone Strait.
It wasn’t until the afternoon that orca activity was reported, including sightings of both Bigg’s and Northern Residents. At 4:40 pm, Barbara reported the T123s at Weynon Island, after they had passed through Blowhole. Not long after, the same group appeared fairly close into Double Bay, Around 5:20 pm, CETUS Quadra reported the A23s and A25s north of Mittlenatch, near Savary Island, where they had spent the morning before heading southeast.
Later in the evening, humpbacks in Blackfish Sound made distant moans. Shortly after, two whales, most likely Guardian and a companion, passed OrcaLab closely, just on the edge of the fog. With breaching and splashing visible in the dim light, their presence created a truly mystical scene in Blackney Pass.
This afternoon, MERS reported an entangled humpback identified as Tutu, heading west in Johnstone Strait. While Tutu had already been reported the previous day in Georgia Strait , the DFO disentanglement team had managed to attach a telemetry tag to the gear, allowing them to continue tracking the whale. By nightfall, they had removed 100 feet of the attached gear, 80 feet still remained.
★Fortunately, the next day, September 6, Tutu was relocated and freed entirely. completing a very successful effort and with a wonderful outcome thanks to all involved; Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) , the Marine Education & Research Society and NNicollette Audy from Double Bay Sanctuary.
As a reminder: if you ever encounter an entangled marine mammal, please call the DFO Incident Reporting Line at 1-800-465-4336. It is extremely dangerous to approach or attempt to disentangle a whale yourself. Keeping your distance allows the trained team to do their work safely.
