By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter CANADAB次元官网网址橲 NATIONAL OBSERVER

ItB次元官网网址檚 marvellously symbolic that Nick the humpback whale returns year after year with her offspring to the waters surrounding the Discovery Islands, wedged between B.C.B次元官网网址檚 remote central coast and Vancouver Island.

She frequents the waters off Cortes Island near Whaletown B次元官网网址� once a whaling station and rendering plant set up in 1868 as part of a colonial industry that eradicated humpbacks in the waters off eastern Vancouver Island by the early 20th century.

Now the species is back. Among them is Nick, named for the distinct U-shaped notch in her dorsal fin.

A prolific mother, sheB次元官网网址檚 had five calves since 2008 B次元官网网址� the most recent this year, said Jackie Hildering, whale researcher and co-founder of the Marine Education Research Society (MERS).

Isolated sightings of humpbacks were reported in the Georgia Strait again in the mid-1980s, but sightings of the massive marine mammals in the Discovery Islands region have skyrocketed in the past decade, becoming one of the hot spots of activity for the baleen giants in the Salish Sea, said Hildering.

B次元官网网址淭his area has gone from 23 individual sightings in 2015 to around 100 humpbacks feeding off the Discovery Islands four years later,B次元官网网址� Hildering said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a rare good news story where we didnB次元官网网址檛 push humpbacks over the edge and they were able to build a population again,B次元官网网址� she said.

The surge in humpbacks in the Discovery Islands and waters of northeast Vancouver Island is not due to population growth alone, Hildering said. But itB次元官网网址檚 still a mystery for whale researchers in the North Pacific as to where the new residents are coming from.

Climate change is a global threat scientists believe could impact humpback recovery worldwide as higher water temperatures potentially change whalesB次元官网网址� food distribution B次元官网网址� possibly resulting in nutritional stress and drops in reproduction, as well as shifts in foraging and breeding grounds or migration schedules.

Humpbacks in southeast Alaska experienced steep population drops along with survival and reproductive rates tied to an intense two-year marine heat wave starting in 2014 that smothered the Pacific coast and was dubbed The Blob.

However, the humpbacks that went missing from Alaska are not the whales showing up in the waters off eastern Vancouver Island, Hildering said.

The humpbacksB次元官网网址� return to this region offers residents a chance at redemption if we can take measures that will sustain the whalesB次元官网网址� conservation. The greatest immediate and preventable threats are still human-caused in the form of boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, Hildering said.

Fifty per cent of humpbacks in the region have entanglement scars, she added, noting impacts from boat strikes are harder to determine because whales killed by boats typically sink to the ocean floor.

Humpback hot spots are often areas of heavy boat activity, increasing the risk to the resident whales who return to their favourite haunts each summer to forage. Image courtesy MERS

Nick has scars from clashes with gear and a vessel, but has survived to accompany each of her offspring to her favourite coastal waters for their first visit. Calves only remain with their mothers for a year or so.

One of NickB次元官网网址檚 recent calves named Splashy, likely born in 2020 in Hawaii, arrived in B.C. that same summer. The young humpback made waves with researchers when it was sighted swimming alone near Hornby Island and nearby waters in the early winter of 2021. The event raises questions about when or under what conditions young humpbacks separate from their mothers and migrate to warmer waters.

This summer, Nick is accompanied by her most recent calf Maite, named in memory of a young victim of the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May, Hildering said, noting the 11-year-old had wanted to be a marine biologist.

Humpbacks in the region arenB次元官网网址檛 just passing through on their way to somewhere else, Hildering said.

She encourages citizens to report humpbacks in local waters and to respect them as individuals and neighbours to help researchers identify specific areas the animals frequent, feeding strategies, survival rates and injuries and how we can better protect them.

The whales come to the Discovery Islands in summer to bulk up on krill and small schooling fish in B.C.B次元官网网址檚 cool, dark waters before B次元官网网址� like many Canadian snowbirds B次元官网网址� migrating to spend the winter in Hawaii, Mexico, and possibly, even Central America or Japan.

These destinations feature warmer waters with less food but are safer nurseries for newly born calves, she said.

Resident whales have specific behaviours and preferred fishing techniques adapted to the region, she added.

The areaB次元官网网址檚 waters are characterized by rapid currents that tend to disperse fish, so humpbacks donB次元官网网址檛 often employ the famed technique known as B次元官网网址渂ubble-net feedingB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� where whales co-operate to corral a school of fish with one member blowing a net of bubbles to prevent their prey from escaping.

The regionB次元官网网址檚 humpbacks, a MERS study found, have developed trap feeding, a sort of lazy manB次元官网网址檚 version of the more commonly used lunge method where the animals charge a dense school of fish, engulfing them in baleen maws.

This unique method sees whales lounge on the oceanB次元官网网址檚 surface with their mouths open letting small fish and fleeing seabirds seek shelter inside their massive jaws.

The humpback then spin or use their flippers to push fish further into their baleen mouths to secure their meal.

More than 20 area humpbacks rely on this energy-efficient technique when fish donB次元官网网址檛 form tight schools, MERS said.

The safety of whales and humans improves if recreational boaters and vessel operators are well-versed on local humpbacksB次元官网网址� habits and favourite haunts, Hildering said.

Humpbacks donB次元官网网址檛 use sonar to hunt and are oblivious to vessels, especially if feeding during the day, and can surface unexpectedly, she said.

Slowing down in humpback hot spots and being on the lookout for other whale indicators B次元官网网址� such as flocks of birds on the water or B次元官网网址渂lowB次元官网网址� as the marine giants expel a cloud of moist air when surfacing B次元官网网址� helps boat operators avoid collisions with the school bus-sized marine mammals.

The whales have very random travel patterns, so boaters shouldnB次元官网网址檛 assume humpbacks will travel in the same direction they were headed on their last observed dive, she said.

One whale named Inukshuk, whoB次元官网网址檚 been returning to the region since at least 2008, is notorious for resting for long periods of time on the surface of the water during the day because he tends to feed on krill at night, said Hildering.

This means he B次元官网网址渂lowsB次元官网网址� infrequently, and looks remarkably like a log that boaters might not stay far enough away from, she said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 worth taking extra care to protect Inukshuk because heB次元官网网址檚 also beloved for being one of the regionB次元官网网址檚 most well-known vocalists when he sings during the day.

While all humpbacks vocalize, only males sing the complex songs the species is famous for.

But most other males in the area tend to sing at night and so are harder to identify.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Marine Mammal Regulations state that boaters should stay at least 100 metres away from humpbacks, and double that distance if they are at rest or accompanied by calves.

But MERS recommends boaters actually maintain a 200-metre distance from humpbacks.

B次元官网网址淲e can act on this incredible privilege of humpbacks coming back to our coasts and having a second chance with them,B次元官网网址� Hildering said.