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A beautiful moment from our 2025 field season at t

A beautiful moment from our 2025 field season at the Fin Island Research Station, in the heart of Gitga'at Territory. The station is now closed for the season and our team will spend the winter months analyzing data, writing reports and planning for 2026.

#whaleresearch #bcwhales

Happy Halloween! On their last night on Fin Islan

Happy Halloween!

On their last night on Fin Island our crew had great fun carving kelp creatures together! How are you getting into the spirit?

New Blog from the field! Fin whales have only rec

New Blog from the field!

Fin whales have only recently returned to BC waters, and now they are facing increasing threats and a changing habitat. Read the full story through the link in our bio or by navigating here ➡️ https://saveourseas.com/update/a-changing-habitat/

A big thank you to @saveourseasfoundation for your years of support and for sharing these stories 🐋

That’s a wrap on our 2025 field season! We are

That’s a wrap on our 2025 field season!

We are busy bees as we work to close the Fin Island Station for winter. It has been an immensely successful whale research season and we can’t wait to share the results of all that we have learned.

THANK YOU to all who have contributed to our field work, data collection, and advocacy this year. From our field volunteers who are the pulse of daily research, our partners, and our followers who help to spread awareness for the protection of whales. Most importantly, with great thanks to the Gitga’at, Kitasoo Xai’xais, and Heiltsuk First Nations who have allowed us to continue to work within their Traditional Territories.

Follow along with us this winter as we share further research and whale conservation updates!

📸 our fall field crew from left to right: Laurie, Grace, Kendle, and Yasmine

Listen as BC Whales founder and CEO Janie Wray and

Listen as BC Whales founder and CEO Janie Wray and WWF Canada’s Kristen Powell and Hussein Alidina discuss the return of the fin whale to British Columbia’s north coast and the threats they now face due to increased vessel traffic in these once quiet waterways.

WWF's - This is Wild podcast - Episode 4: Fin Whales
https://wwf.ca/this-is-wild/

Podcast can also be found by following the link in our bio

#bcwhales #wwfcanada

Transient orca have been a consistent presence in

Transient orca have been a consistent presence in Gitga'at Territory over the past few weeks.

On Sunday, they were once again seen traveling silently through Squally Channel. Very quickly, we set out in our research vessel and following a report from the Gtiga'at Guardians, found three orca travelling into Otter Channel.

With two large males and their recognizable dorsal fins, we were surprised to see the T019 family, as they are often seen travelling through the Salish Sea. The three were travelling very fast towards multiple blows further into the channel, who were identified as the T109B’s. They were quick to identify, as they had been seen travelling and socializing past the Fin Island Research Station just last week. The T109B’s were feeding after a successful hunt, while their youngest members practised their hunting techniques on the gulls that were feasting on the leftovers.

The two families joined together, socializing together before traveling together in a resting line. Just as the group turned back towards Squally Channel, an LNG tanker came into view, traveling right towards the orca and multiple humpback whales. As the tanker came closer, the behaviour of the orca quickly shifted from a resting, social interaction to travelling in the opposite direction. Spouter (T019C) began a series of tail and pec slaps.

The noise pollution generated by these tankers affects the ability for whales to communicate with each other, navigate, and forage and increases the risk of ship-strikes, as the route runs through core humpback, fin whale, and orca habitat. This is the first year of this major shift in this habitat, and we are working diligently to document this change and all of its impacts.

All images captured under research licence XMMS22025 with telephoto lens and cropped.

#whaleresearch #bcwhales

On October 17, 2025 a high speed ferry service tha

On October 17, 2025 a high speed ferry service that runs between Nanaimo and Vancouver is believed to have struck a humpback whale near Vancouver’s English Bay during its regular service. They reported that a whale was seen moving away from the vessel shortly after the incident. Hopefully more will be known about the condition of the whale in the coming days.

The population of humpback whales has been rebounding along the coast of British Columbia for many years and it is now common to see humpback whales in the Straight of Georgia and Howe Sound. While this is a positive change for the species, it also means incidents like this will become more likely as whales and marine traffic utilize the same waterways. Large vessels and vessels traveling at high speeds are not able to respond quickly when a whale appears suddenly in their line of travel and the the movement of feeding humpback whales is often unpredictable.

This incident as well as other recent strikes highlights the need for further conversations around vessel speed in known hot spots or when whales are present.

Find a link to the full CBC News article in our bio.

The remaining members of the T030 matriline surpri

The remaining members of the T030 matriline surprised us late this morning as they passed the fin island station.

Yasmine, who was at the station, first sighted them heading towards our Gil Island hydrophone site, which is exactly where Grace, Laurie, and Kendle were in our research vessel – the timing could not have been more perfect!

In true transient fashion, they were completely silent as they travelled down Squally Channel. Ever elusive in the water to increase their chances of successfully finding and capturing their marine mammal prey, we were so fortunate to be able to document their fleeting presence.

This family unit used to be comprised of 4 whales – T030 (the matriarch, born ~1967), T030A (the eldest son, born in 1986), T030B (the eldest daughter, born in 1993), and T030C (the youngest daughter, born in 2005). T030B has moved on from her natal family group to now travel with her own 2 children. In 2023 it was announced that matriarch T030 was presumed deceased.

Today, we saw the remaining two members of the original T030 family travelling together as brother and sister. Orca are incredibly dependent on the female matriarchs, and it was incredibly heartening to see these two siblings continuing to travel together and rely on each other without their mothers presence.

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BC WHALES | NORTH COAST CETACEAN SOCIETY

A non-profit whale-research organization dedicated to the research and protection of cetaceans along the northern coast of British Columbia.

All photographs, video and audio are the property of North Coast Cetacean Society (BC Whales)