2023 is turning out to be a record year for Bigg's killer whales, with over 1,200 sightings made to date by whale watching companies in the Salish Sea. (Dreamstime)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

quite the show

Sightings of Bigg’s killer whale at record levels in Island waters

Nov 8, 2023 | 4:27 PM

NANAIMO — It’s been a banner year for sightings of the Bigg’s killer whale.

Formerly dubbed the ‘transient’ killer whale due to its travelling nature, more of the species have been spotted in Salish Sea waters than ever before with around 400 individual whales recorded to date.

Erin Gless with the Pacific Whale Watch Association said they’re continuously seeing more and more of the mammals, due in large part to a plentiful food supply of seals and sea lions in the Salish Sea.

“The number of Bigg’s killer whales in the population is increasing and has been for at least a decade or so. So far this year, they’ve already had at least six babies that I can recall and there’s nearly 400 individuals in that population.”

Their behaviour has also changed recently, with fewer trips in and out of the Salish Sea.

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“They’re not just coming in and heading out the next day, there’s going to be a group of Bigg’s killer whales somewhere in the area, at least one group, almost daily.”

According to Gless, local whale-watching tours from Seattle to Telegraph Cove on northern Vancouver Island have reported a Bigg’s sighting daily since March 12, a span of over 240 straight days.

The Pacific Whale Watch Association works with 30 different eco-tourism companies across the region, including several around Nanaimo and Oceanside.

This year, to the end of October, over 1,270 unique sightings of Bigg’s were reported.

Despite the boost in Bigg’s sightings, the news is less than stellar for another common breed of orca in the region, the southern resident killer whale.

Numbers suggest 2023 will be the second lowest year on record for reported sightings, behind only 2021.

“The reason continues to be a lack of stable food on their side,” Gless said. “They’re eating salmon, they especially love chinook salmon and until we can get them more of a year-round stable supply of salmon, we’re just not going to see them in this area as much.”

Rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and loss of habitat continue to dwindle chinook numbers in the region.

— with files from Jon de Roo, 97.3 The Eagle

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