A humpback whale is spotted diving amongst California sea lions during a whale survey. These surveys are helping inform fishery management decisions to protect whales from life-threatening entanglements.
Now that the peak whale entanglement season in the Pacific Northwest is over, SR3 is working with partners in California to respond to entanglements there and help conduct surveys to prevent them. In September, SR3’s Entanglement Response Specialist, Doug Sandilands, an entanglement response team, and our response boat, “Nova,” began heading down the Washington coast toward Monterey Bay, California, conducting whale surveys along the way. Despite the forest fire smoke and unseasonably windy weather, the team had success collecting over 100 sightings.
A humpback whale is seen here lunge feeding during a whale survey designed to help prevent entanglements.
They will remain in CA until the spring to conduct additional surveys, in partnership with Cascadia Research Collective and The Marine Mammal Center, and which are funded by the California Ocean Protection Council and NOAA's Prescott Grant.
By identifying areas with a high concentration of whales, these surveys reduce the probability of entanglements. Doug explained, ”Our surveys, along with California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) aerial surveys and sightings from Point Blue, whale watchers and fishermen, have all been finding concentrations of whales. Based on this information, the California Working Group recommended the commercial Dungeness crab gear season be delayed; and, the CDFW has now delayed the fishery until December 23rd to reduce the probability of entanglements.”
SR3’s response boat, “Nova,” is captured taking photo ids of individual whales, which help contribute to long-term population studies.
“These surveys are unique, in that we are not only identifying areas of whale concentrations, but also collecting photos that allow the whales to be individually identified. This information contributes to Cascadia's long-term population studies, and the images of scars and wounds from whales that have previously been entangled help us understand how often whales become entangled.”
Another particularly unique aspect of these surveys is our ability to actively help entangled whales. We carry all of the equipment and authorized personnel required to disentangle any entangled whales we may come across or which are reported nearby.
We are incredibly grateful to all of our partners and supporters who make this important work possible! Stay tuned in the spring for another update on these life-saving surveys.