Humpback Encounters

Here's how these humpback encounters typically go.  On a calm day, we can see the whale's waterspout from miles away. If they are upwind of us in a gentle breeze, the first thing Jay notices is a strong, stinky smell. So, imagine if all you ate was fish. It is herring for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 60 years. On top of that, you don't have a way to brush your baleen between meals. Your breath would likely be very "smishy” (to use Scott's new word). Sometimes the smell is our first encounter with a humpback. 

If all three of us smell it, we know humpbacks are close by even though we haven't seen one yet. Next, we notice Jay standing with his head in the air. We scan all directions, but especially directly in front of the boat. Usually, one surfaces a few hundred yards away. Jay barks when he hears a blow. Kelly and I quickly try to figure out if we need to change course to give them space. Only once or twice have they popped up a hundred feet away. Needless to say, that is a thrill. If we are sailing, we turn on the engine so the whales can hear us better. If we are motoring along, we change course to move away from the direction they are swimming. 

Although the encounters are sometimes smelly, we are always thrilled. We keep learning more about them from books and the various non-profits that work to educate us and protect the whales. The whales come here every year for the rich herring populations, but the number of herring schools have decreased quickly over the past decades. More recently a pod of whales in Alaska stumbled across Hidden Falls hatchery just as they were releasing salmon fry. Now they return every year at just the right time for the release, and the pod has taught many more humpbacks how to fish around hatcheries. A whale near Port Neville, called Conger, was documented using a brand-new feeding technique called trap feeding.  Conger looks for birds feeding on a bait ball near the surface. Conger lies still nearby with his mouth wide open. He is still. The small fish enter the huge mouth for shelter. Conger just waits for enough fish to hide inside his mouth before he closes the trap, strains out the water, and swallows the fish. He is teaching the technique to other whales in the area, and it is spreading outward across the humpback populations. Just amazing.