September 2024
September was a record-breaking month for both ecotypes of killer whale in the Salish Sea for two opposite reasons. We officially passed the number of Bigg’s killer whale sightings recorded in 2023, meaning that 2024 will be yet another record-breaking year when all is said and done. All reports between now and the end of the year are just boosting that total! But on the flip side, it was the lowest number of days present for Southern Residents in the month of September at just 9 (on one day there were two different groups, hence 10 sightings).
Historically we would see the entire Southern Resident community with regularity in September, a pattern that continued until last year. Now it seems like the April-May-June absence that started over a decade ago and continued in more recent years into July and August might also be extending into September. Interestingly, the Fraser River Chinook salmon returns as reported by the Albion test catch fishery were strong this month, making it a little more surprising the whales didn’t come in. We can only surmise that whatever alternative food source they’ve found in the late spring and early summer is good enough to keep them away from inland waters even when there are fish returning. If true, that’s certainly not a bad thing, but still a sad new reality for those of us who were used to them being around so much more than they are nowadays.
Js, Ks, and the Greater L4s did pay one mid-month visit to the Salish Sea, but half the reports from this month were just L90 and her new calf L128, who we believe probably went back west and rejoined the rest of her sub-group.
It’s hard to know where to start when summarizing the Bigg’s killer whale activity. It wasn’t unusual to have 10 or more different groups totaling over 40 whales on a daily basis throughout the month. T18 was documented on her own, split off from the T19s at the end of August, but in September only the three T19s remained in the Salish Sea for the entirety of the month. T63 Chainsaw and his mom T65 Whidbey also returned to the region on September 1st after being away for 3 months, and were seen regularly, mostly up in the Strait of Georgia. Many other familiar fins were also around most of the month including the T2Cs, T36Bs, T46Bs, T100s and T101s, and T137s. The T35As spent more time here than they typically have in the past, and the uncommon T121As also made an appearance.
One more surprising stat came on the Northern Resident killer whale front with the A42s sticking around the Campbell River region for most of the month. Since we’ve been tracking Northern Residents in recent years, they usually depart the northern Strait of Georgia by the end of August, but not so this year! In fact they are still reported up there as of early October.
October Southern Resident presence varies widely from year to year, but got off to a good start for 2024 with the return of J-Pod on October 1st. Typically things start to slow down in October for Bigg’s killer whales, though last year we still had them present on all 31 days of the month!
