On April 6, BCA was privileged to hear from Jackie Hildering of the Marine Education and Research Society, who delivered a powerful and passionate presentation on humpback whale research and boater safety around these giants.  “It really lifted me up to note the interest and engagement from BCA.  It helps it feel so worthwhile too to know this was a big audience of very active boaters.  Thank you again.”

Jackie shared several important links during her presentation and during the ensuing question period, and has provided them for our reference.  These include the link to the online auction she was so excited about, where to find hydrophones, where to report sightings, what to do if you see an entangled whale, and more.

Links relevant to questions resulting from BCA Club Night

• Good media coverage of Orca interactions with boats in the Atlantic
• The Marine Detective on social media:
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
• Information on some Humpbacks interacting with boats which gets referenced as “mugging”
• Our trap-feeding research (novel feeding strategy)

Recorded Presentations

• Marine Education and Research Society
  • “Return of Giants” recording is a slightly longer version of the Club Night presentation
  • “Boaters and Marine Mammals – Safety and Stewardship” focuses more on regulations and best practices

How to Save a Whale

• MERS short video about what to do (and not to do) when you see an entangled whale
• See a Blow, Go Slow is a summary of the Canadian Marine Mammal Regulations, Emergency Measures for the Southern Resident Orca and best practices

Sightings Related

• To share photos (taken outside 200 m) with us for the purposes of identifying individual whales or sightings of branded sea lions
• To download the BC Cetacean Sightings WhaleReport app
  • For information on how this interfaces with the “Whale Report Alert System”

Social Media

• By sharing content from our social media, you help expand the reach of our education efforts
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Online Auction

• This MERS fundraiser starts on April 22nd but you can already “sneak peak” and mark your favourites.

Whale Warning Flag

• Available in our OceanStore

Hydrophones

• MERS has a model from Cetacean Research Technology
• Dolphin Ear models are a possibly more affordable option

Further Ways to Help

• Includes Humpback Whale sponsorship and donations

Photo credit: Humpback Whale “Jigger” breaching (catalogue number is BCX1188). Photo taken with telephoto lens under Marine Mammal License MML-42, ©Jackie Hildering, Marine Education and Research Society.