J17 and J44
Photo by Jeanne Hyde

J28 and J46
Photo by Ken Balcomb

J35 and J47
Photo by Dave Ellifrit

We're Back
Photo by Ken Balcomb

Encounter # 4 • January 29 • J pod

Observers: Ken Balcomb, Dave Ellifrit and Jeanne Hyde

J pod came south in Haro Strait this morning (@ 0930) spread out over many miles as far as we could see. Dave Ellifrit, Jeanne Hyde, and Ken Balcomb headed out in r/v “Orca” to check on the new baby whales and evaluate body condition of pod members. By early afternoon the whales were traveling west in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca still very spread out with the nearest whale to shore (J26) about two miles SSE of Discovery Island, BC as we left them at 1230. We confirmed that J1,J2, and J44-47 babies were all present and in good body condition. The other whales were so dispersed that we did not find everyone, but there was no reason for concern given all that we saw appeared to be in good body condition. One Chinook salmon scale was found in trail of J1 later in the day after Mark Malleson saw him chase and catch a fish south of the Victoria waterfront. We did not see the whales catching many fish today- they were mostly searching.

Postscript: A little over a week later (Feb 8th and 9th), fishing was slow at the 2010 Roche Harbor Salmon Classic Invitational with 43 salmon caught, and the biggest being a 16 pound hatchery Chinook. For perspective, compare that with the 1976 (all year) sport catch of Chinook salmon (all wild) of 55,248 fish from the San Juan Islands, and the 1986 (all year) sport catch of 30,208 fish from the islands! The commercial salmon fishery in Washington State landed 782,000 Chinook salmon in 1976, and 422,000 Chinook salmon in 1986. The average weight of a Chinook salmon commercially landed in those years was about 15 pounds, and derby winners in the sport fisheries routinely exceeded 40-50 pounds! Clearly, the times have changed for the salmon, and for the whales that depend upon the salmon for survival. Of course, things have changed for the fishermen, too.

These photos were taken under MMPA permit #532-1822