Site Fidelity in the Salish Sea

Project coordinator: Andrea Hardaker

Determining humpback whale ‘hotspots’ and ‘high-conflict’ areas

Our work uses a combination of data from platforms of opportunity and dedicated field surveys to document habitat use in the growing population(s) of Humpback Whales that use the Salish Sea (from the Discovery Islands to the Strait of Juan de Fuca).

The goal of this project is to identify areas which are ‘hotspots’ for humpback whale foraging and to determine the level to which individual animals show fidelity to the same locations year after year.

One of the primary threats to the recovery of the animals that visit the Salish Sea is that this area is highly urbanized. It is a well trafficked area for vessels and is used for a variety of anthropogenic marine activities: fishing, shipping, transportation, recreation and tourism. There is a potential for conflict between these activities and the growing Humpback Whale population(s) that are recolonizing areas they have been absent from for over 100 years. This conflict is likely to take the form of increased risk of entanglements, ship strikes, exposure to pollutants, underwater noise and overfishing of prey species.

The goal of our work is to identify areas that are important to Humpback Whales in an effort to inform decisions on the most effective ways to mitigate potential conflicts. As well as to identify individuals that more frequently use these ‘high conflict’ areas and determine if they are at greater risk of mortality than other animals that visit the BC Coast.

andrea@ketacoastalconservation.org