More KIller Whales and Humpbacks in our Waters

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There have been a lot more killer whales and Humpback whales in our waters lately. According to a new study from UBC, the inside waters off Vancouver Island are critical habitat for West Coast Transient, or Bigg’s killer whales. The return of Humpback whales has been heralded as a success story, and there are now also reports of gray whale sightings. Last week, Cortes Currents interviewed two of the scientists involved in this research. Emma Shaparski from Straitwatch Emma Shaparski is a Quadra Island resident, coordinator for Straitwatch Quadra, and one of the organization’s vessel operators. She holds a B.Sc. in Geography, with honours, from the University of Victoria, where she specialized in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to enhance understanding of cetacean habitat use. She was out on one of the boats when I found her, but agreed to an interview the following evening. “Our study area extends all the way down to Powell River and all the way north to Kelsey Bay. This is my sixth season on the water doing research in this area. We have a field season that runs from early June to the end of September, but I work year-round doing all the data analysis, report writing, and that kind of thing.” Taryn Scarff, Lead Author of the UBC Study Taryn Scarff is the lead author of the UBC study currently making headlines in the news. “As part of my Master’s Degree at UBC, I looked at the abundance and distribution of transient killer whales in what I call the inside waters of Vancouver Island.”