A whale calf that was struck by a foot-passenger ferry last week has been identified and its healing process will be monitored, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The DFO, on Friday, Oct. 17, received a report from Hullo ferry service about a collision with a humpback whale near Vancouver.
The report was a requirement per marine mammal regulations, and according to the DFO, the company has been co-operative.
Three days later, on Oct. 20, the whale that was struck was identified as Skipper, the calf of BCX1193, also known as Zig Zag, after a whale-watching vessel photographed an injured calf. A comparison with photos taken the week before showed the injury was recent and likely the result of a collision with a vessel.
Sara Jenkins, communications director with Wild Whales Vancouver, photographed the calf and its mother a few kilometres from where Hullo reported the collision.
“We noticed straight away this calf had this brand-new wound on its dorsal fin,” she said. “It’s very, very distinct and it is quite deep, so it is very obvious to notice that it was injured … We knew when we saw it on Thursday it was fine, so we were piecing things together.”
While the calf appeared slower at the surface, not diving as often as usual, Jenkins said she believes it just needs time to heal.
“We’ve had other humpbacks in the area that have had similar cuts and they do heal, so as long as it hasn’t caused any internal damage, and it didn’t get into the muscle – I just think it was just the blubber – it should heal over quite well.”
In the meantime, she asks that boaters give the humpbacks extra distance beyond the required 200 metres to allow the calf space to heal.
“The whale-watching industry here, we’ve been speaking to the DFO about it and we’ve kind of put into place that we won’t view them out there because they need their extra space. So if we come across them when we’re out on our tours, once we ID them we’ll get a photograph to keep and update, and keep seeing how the wound is healing, then we’ll depart and leave them to it.”
Jenkins said Zig Zag is one of the whales seen most often in the area, with her migration pattern bringing her back in the summer to feed. She has calves about every two years, making her “a well-known mom.”
“Once we see her tail fluke we can kind of identify which humpback it is because we’ve been observing her years and years on the water…” Jenkins said. “The little calf would have been born in the winter time at the start of the year and that one will be going back down to the migration with Zig Zag at the end of the season, hopefully.”
Ben Stanford, DFO regional director of communications for the Pacific region, told the News Bulletin that the Pacific Whale Watch Association, a collection of different whale-watching businesses, has been a valuable partner providing sighting information.
“Given the seriousness of the injury it will be important to monitor the animal’s healing progress,” he said.
Stanford asked that the public “be whale wise” and educate themselves about marine mammal interactions, which can be found online at www.bewhalewise.org/other-cetaceans/#ca-mm-regulations.
The department encourages people to report possible occurrences of whales being harassed or disturbed, and instances of collision with whales or whale entanglements, by calling the DFO’s hotline at 1-800-465-4336 or by e-mailing dfo.orr-ons.mpo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Hullo was contacted for comment.