EncDate:06/07/23 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:35

ObservBegin:11:20 AM

ObservEnd:12:25 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Dave Ellifrit, Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Joe Zelwietro

Pods:L

LocationDescr:Nitinat/Clo-oose Grounds

Start Latitude:48 39.31

Start Longitude:124 51.04

End Latitude:48 39.31

End Longitude:124 52.69

 

EncSummary:

Mark, Joe, and Dave departed Port San Juan after a leisurely morning awaiting a break in the fog, and set off northwest along the Vancouver Island shoreline. Steady two to three metre swells made the going slow, but they reached Carmanah Point by ~1100. Just shy of the Nitinat Narrows, Joe spotted a gray whale, which turned out to be three animals feeding inside the kelp off Dare Point. After documenting the largest – and the only individual outside of the shore break – they decided to push offshore with a good angle along the swell toward Swiftsure Bank.
Moments after turning 90° to port, Mark spotted a single killer whale fin ahead. Just one nautical mile south of the Nitinat Bar, Dave confirmed Southern Resident killer whale L108 was moving southeast, parallel to the Island. They paced the now-sprouted bull for a few minutes, in hopes of finding the remainder of his L54 matriline and their constant companion, L88, and were rewarded after a few minutes when he made a sharp turn inshore to meet the matriarch L54 as she successfully chased down a salmon.
After a quick prey share, the two continued to forage in the area for a little while, and the Mike 1 team moved off and attempted to spot the yet unaccounted for L88 and L117. Unsuccessful, they confirmed that L54 and her eldest were apparently non-directional and foraging in the area, before ending the encounter just a mile west of where it had begun and moved off toward the Bank in search of more.

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