Record Number of Whales Sighted on Farallon Islands Trip

A record number of whales were sighted on the Oceanic Society's whale watching cruises to the Farallon Islands this past weekend. A total of 114 whales were spotted from the Oceanic Society's educational whale watching boats, including 94 endangered humpback whales, 13 endangered blue whales and 7 Orcas, or killer whales. Izzy Szczepaniak, a naturalist for the Oceanic Society and field researcher for Cascadia Research Collective, reviewed records covering the last twenty one years in order to make the determination.

That quantity of whale sightings is a record for the Oceanic Society since the organization began its educational Farallon Islands whale watching trips in 1988

"It was a spectacular day on the water," said Szczepaniak, an Oceanic Society naturalist who was aboard Sunday's trip to the Farallones.

Passengers on Saturday's Farallon Islands Nature Cruise observed 30 humpback whales, and watched as some of those whales dove for food and others lunge-fed at the ocean's surface. Passengers on this trip also observed 12 blue whales and five Orcas.

On Sunday, passengers sighted 64 humpback whales, one blue whale, two Orcas and 24 harbor porpoises. Participants also watched as a 10-foot thresher shark breached 10 times.

The humpback whales were concentrated in an area of abundant food, according to Szczepaniak. An enormous layer of krill was sitting just below the surface and all of the whales were feeding on the krill. Most of the time from two to five whales surfaced together, side-by-side, to feed. On several occasions the boat was surrounded by 10 or more whales. Researchers from the Oceanic Society and the Cascadia Research Collective were able to get positive photo identification of 10 of the humpbacks that were spotted.

Sunday's trip participants also observed a blue whale while they were watching the humpbacks. There were also two sightings of killer whales on Sunday. In the first sighting, a single killer whale jumped completely out of the water, offering the passengers a full-body view. The second sighting was of a much larger killer whale with a dorsal fin of at least 6 feet. Both killer whale sightings were made while the boat was surrounded by a large group of humpback whales. The killer whales did not seem interested in the humpbacks and were presumably feeding on the fish that were also feeding on the krill, according to Szczepaniak.

The Oceanic Society, a non-profit organization, provides non-invasive public access to the Gulf of the Farallones and the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge through day-long educational boat trips to the Islands annually from May through November. The area attracts 33 species of marine mammals and the Refuge, which is located 27 miles west of San Francisco, includes the largest seabird colony in the contiguous U.S. It attracts more than 300,000 birds, including nesting Tufted Puffins, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, Ashy Storm Petrel, Black Oystercatchers, and three species of cormorants. It is also a breeding haven and home to California sea lions, northern elephant seals, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, and Northern fur seals.

The Cascadia Research Collective is the principal organization conducting and coordinating humpback and blue whale research both along the West Coast of the United States as well as off Central America, as well as humpback whale research in the entire North Pacific. The Oceanic Society works cooperatively with Cascadia to study whales off the San Francisco Bay Area and Costa Rica.

Oceanic Society boat trips to the Farallon Islands, the Gulf of the Farallones and the nearby Continental Shelf depart Saturdays and Sundays, May 30 through November 30, 2009, from the Marina Green in San Francisco starting at 8:00 am and lasting approximately eight hours. The $120 per person cost of the trip includes a free copy of The Farallon Islands, Past, Present, and Future, a 42-minute film produced by the Oceanic Society in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The film production provides the boat-based whale watchers a virtual land tour of the islands.

Reservations are on a first-come basis and can be made by calling (415) 474-3385 or going to http://www.oceanicsociety.org/whale. Special group rates are available for the boat trips. Participants supply their own food and beverage. Minimum age is 10 years and children must be accompanied by an adult. Call our special hotline for current wildlife sightings: (415) 474-0488.

Founded in 1969, the mission of the nonprofit Oceanic Society is to protect endangered wildlife and preserve threatened marine habitats around the world through the establishment of protected areas, scientific research, and environmental education.

Reporters interested in taking one of the Oceanic Society's boat trips to the Farallon Islands for reporting purposes should contact Birgit Winning, the executive director of the Oceanic Society, at 800.326.7491 x 17 or at winning@oceanicsociety.org. The trips have great potential for captivating photographs, video images, and audio recordings.