Each whale is unique!  Depending on the species, we identify individuals by the markings, colouration and shape of their dorsal fins or the underside of their fluke.  In the years that we have been living among these whales, we have learned that each whale, like our species, are clearly distinct individuals; and that their uniqueness extends beyond their distinguishing patterns shown in the subsequent photographs.  Our hope is that this identifying them as individuals leads to an appreciation of the individual personas of these magnificent creatures.

Humpback Whales

The resident humpback whales in our catalogue are organized according to identification numbers beginning with one of three prefixes: BCX, BCY, or BCZ. The letters “BC” refer to the province of British Columbia and the letters X, Y, and Z, provide a general indication of the darkness of the fluke, so that a BCX fluke is mostly dark, a BCY fluke is about half-covered in white markings, and a BCZ fluke is mostly white.

Knowing what to look for in a fluke is the key to identifying an individual whale. After seeing the general coloration of the fluke from dark to light, you can narrow it down to the BCX, BCY, or BCZ range, the next step is to observe distinguishing characteristics.

  • Large scars or wounds in the fluke profile (the unfortunate causes of these deformations, such as propeller strikes or rake marks from Bigg’s transient orca attacks, make identification quick and easy)

  • Notable markings on the fluke – Are there many circular barnacle scars? Do the markings show any recognizable shapes?

  • The trailing edge of the fluke – Are there any large divots? Is it generally smooth or very rough?

  • The general fluke shape – Are its tips pointed, rounded, or curled? Are there large aggregations of barnacles on the tips?

Through the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration (CPHC), we are collaborating on a coast-wide scale with humpback whale research groups to build a comprehensive humpback whale identification catalogue that incorporates all known humpbacks in BC. for humpback whales in collaboration with The CPHC catalogues Humpback Whales off the coast of British Columbia.

The centralized catalogue and database of individual Humpbacks enable understanding of the whales’ habitat use, behaviours, population size and structure, life histories, and the impacts of threats like vessel strike and entanglement.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) maintained a province-wide catalogue of Humpback Whales off Canada’s Pacific Coast up to 2010. Members of the CPHC were among those who contributed data to DFO and ensured cataloguing of Humpbacks continued beyond 2010. The CPHC has retained DFO’s alphanumeric system of assigning Humpback Whale catalogue names e.g. BCY0710.

The efforts of the CPHC have informed research beyond British Columbia, including the reassessment of North Pacific Humpbacks by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

Additional members of the Collaboration are the Marine Education and Research Society (coordinators of the CPHC), Pacific WildLife Foundation, North Coast Cetacean Research Initiative – Ocean Wise Conservation Association, Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, Keta Coastal Conservation, and Whales of Clayoquot and Barkley. The efforts of the CPHC are supported by DFO.

Fin Whales

The photo-identification of fin whales plays a large role in their conservation. Helping to identify the patterns of known individuals allows us to demonstrate how significant the waters are to whales who have lived in BC for large portions of their life.

Knowing what to look for in a dorsal fin is key to identifying a fin whale individual. Generally, there are five things to look out for when identifying a Fin Whale:

A) Dorsal angle: Here we see a medium vertical length fin, with a distinctly tilted angle on the top half.

B) Notches: The small triangle notch is unique to the individual in terms of shape (more of an acute triangle), as well as placement on the fin. This notch is placed closer to the base of the dorsal fin.

C) Holes in a dorsal fin are unique in shape and placement as well. This one is noticeable in terms of the size (small), shape (an oval), and placement (directly above and to the right of the notch).

D) Image orientation: Sometimes the angle of the whale within the photo relative to the camera (angle of orientation) can change the way we are able to view the shape of the dorsal fin. Keep this in mind if the angle of orientation in the photo of interest differs from the angle in the catalog photo.

E) Scars and/or parasites: Fin whales are parasitized by cookiecutter sharks (Isistius brasiliensis). The bite marks leave distinct oval scarring that creates constellations of identifiable markings. On this particular whale, the lack of fresh cookiecutter scars are also notable and something to consider when matching. Keep in mind that these scars fade with time, and new ones can be added every year, sometimes obscuring scar patterns that were valuable for identification in earlier years.