Boats and seaplanes were grounded on Friday morning when five transient killer whales entered the Inner Harbour, likely in search of prey. Around 10 a.m., bystanders saw the group swimming in the Inner Harbor toward the Harbor Air terminal, before heading toward the waters near the Delta Hotel and eventually toward the Johnson Street Bridge. The whales turned before they could pass under, however, heading back out to sea. They only spent about 30 minutes in the area, but to Hailey Olsen, marketing manager for Orca Spirit Adventures, time slows down when you’re watching whales. “Even though we talk about whales all day, it’s still an incredible experience to see them right off the coast and right outside the Inner Harbor,” he said, noting that crowds of onlookers formed near the Delta Hotel and Inn in Laurel Point. “It’s amazing, it’s something people dream of seeing.” The last time an orca was seen near the harbor was in August 2019, when a lone transient whale was spotted near Fisherman’s Wharf. In 2018, a pod of at least four whales was seen in the harbor and spent about an hour in the area. Jared Towers, director of Bay Cetology, a group of marine biologists and technical researchers based in Alert Bay, said it is not unusual to see whales from transient populations in coastal waters, where they often come to hunt mammals such as seals and sea lions. “We have a lot of food for these whales,” he said. “If the food is here, they will learn to deal with these noises and disturbances.” The killer whales spotted Friday morning were members of T124A, a parent group that occurs up and down the coastline, from Alaska to Oregon and along the coast of B.C. They have also been spotted in the Port of Vancouver, Towers said. “When you have animals like that in busy waterways, there’s a danger to them,” he said. “With more boats in the water, there’s a greater chance of a boat hitting or some kind of interaction like that.” But on Friday morning, Olsen saw boats away from the whales, and Harbor Air put its flights on hold until the orcas were out of the area. The airline said that if orcas were spotted in port during a scheduled landing, the plane would do a “go-around”, orbiting out of port until it was clear to land, using the extra fuel it has on board. plane if necessary. Towers was happy to hear that the boats and planes gave the whales space, in accordance with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans rule for boat operators to stay 400 meters from orcas in southern B.C.’s coastal waters. Boaters must turn off sounders and engines if a whale approaches. “The rules are put in place so we can coexist,” Towers said. “The best thing we can do is be good neighbors.” [email protected]
