How To ID a Humpback Whale

Right before the last whaling station closed down at the end of the 60’s, there was a massive roundup of humpback whales in my area.  My neighbor Billy Proctor saw them being dragged by in front of his house.  Even Joe, Billy’s favorite humpback was harpooned, a whale he would often row out to pet.  It wasn’t until the 1980’s when the first few humpbacks were again seen off northeastern Vancouver Island by Alex Morton, who for years lived with her children in Echo Bay and now owns and oversees Salmon Coast Field Station next door to me.

In 2003, there were only 7 humpback whales feeding in our waters, but over the past 12 years there has been an incredible return of the mighty giants to our area.  In 2011 there were 71 individuals recorded and their numbers are increasing every year.

Thanks to those at the Marine Education and Research Society who have been compiling photos and data from observers, there is a humpback whale catalog available at www.mersociety.org

Individual humpbacks are identified by the underside markings and distinct bumpy, notched edges of their tails or flukes and by the shapes of their dorsal fins.  Department of Fisheries began naming them with a series of letters and numbers depending on how much white pigmentation each whale had on their tail, which is utterly boring and difficult to remember, so now each whale has been given a nickname by the lucky person who takes the first photo of a “new” whale seen in my area.  So BCXuk2011#3, a whale I just recently filmed outside my house, has been given the honorary name of Galaxy.

Meet the latest humpback visitors to Echo Bay – Galaxy and Jigger…