mark gardner photo
globe to witness one of Mother Nature’s
greatest spectacle the sea has to offer.
Whale watching is a popular organized recreational activity practiced by
tourists via observing residential and
migratory populations of whales and
other cetaceans in their natural habitat.
Similar to bird watching, it is extremely
popular due to educational or scientific
reasons. In the 1950s, whale watching
increasingly gained popularity across
the country and took off in the San
michael bertrand photo
Like dolphins, Orcas are highly
intelligent as seen here. Below, a large
humpback whale takes to the air.
michael bertrand photo
Juan Islands into the 1980s. Increased
conservation efforts in the 1960s put an
abrupt end to whale hunting thereby allowing fragmented populations,
particularly those located around the
San Juan Islands, to recolonize. The
birthplace of whale watching in the
San Juan Islands started initially in the
1980s with increased visitation through
the 1990s. Prior to the earliest periods
of whale watching, The Whale Museum
in Friday Harbor was established in
1979, which served as the epicenter for
whale stewardship. The Whale Museum
provides stewardship of whales and the
Salish Sea ecosystem through education
and research. At present, it is estimated that approximately 750,000
to 1 million visitors worldwide
annually make the pilgrimage to
participate in whale watching at San
Juan Islands.
The Pacific Northwest contains
multiple species of whales that
frequent the nutrient-rich waters of
the Pacific Ocean. Prey availability
is the large ecological reasoning for
their seasonal distribution whereas their populations seem less
unaffected by water temperature,
salinity, turbidity, and distance from
shore. Two distinct populations of
Orcas visit the San Juan Islands. The
northern resident population is typically located between the central coast
of British Columbia and Vancover Island. The southern resident population
is highly concentrated around Vancouver Island and southbound into Puget
Sound area of Washington. Offshore
populations off Orcas are relatively far
and few between.
Seasonal whale watching opportunities is quite frequent throughout the
year in the San Juan Islands. A mixed
composition of multiple species of
whales – humpbacks, sperm, minks, and
greys – congregate in the nutrient-enriched, productive waters to forage on
densely populations schools of plankton. In addition to these species, three
subpopulations of Orcas inhabit these
waters, which include J, K, and L groups.
These groups are differentiated in their
foraging behavior corresponding to
what they feed on specifically. The Orcas
in the San Juan Islands are classified
as fish-feeders or mammal-feeders.
The other whales are largely plankton
feeders occasionally dining on baitfish
(e.g. Pacific herring and sandlances).
Often termed by marine specialists
the “Southern Residents”, these three
pods in particular frequent the San Juan
Islands in the spring through the fall
while transients can be observed on a
year-round basis.
Underneath the slow-rolling waves
of the North Pacific reside lush bull kelp
forests that undulate rhythmically the
ocean currents. The bull kelp forests
surrounding all the San Juan Islands
can grow up to lengths of 200 yards
and weight 300 pounds. Based off their
classification as a true algae, the densely
populated concentrations of bull kelp are
highly photosynthetic in which they convert sugars, carbon dioxide, and energy
via sunlight to produce energy. Interestingly, it is this natural act of biology that
explains for the emerald-like coloration.
As primary producers, bull kelp forests
attract lower trophic feeding organisms
followed by salmon and other fishes and
seal and sea lions. They essentially form
the marine food web base for the San
Juan Islands leavi