The Whales & Their Environment

Grey Whale The waters and islands of Juan de Fuca Strait, Haro Strait and the Strait of Georgia are a part-time home to three groups of "resident" whales, commonly known as "pods" of orca, or "killer" whales. Pods of whales are groups of families and individual whales that live and thrive mainly on salmon and other species of fish found in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. On occasion, "transient" orca whales are encountered on an individual or group basis, and are mainly dependent on other mammals, such as seals and sea lions as a core food source. Pods can gather together to form "super-pods" and have reached numbers in excess of 80 whales at a time!

Because of our diverse ocean bio-systems, many forms of marine wildlife, birds and fish species are abundant in these waters, making viewing of all creatures an ever-changing daily experience. Grey whales, minke whales, humpback whales, dolphins, porpoise and many other mammals frequently call these waters "home".

Photograph and video opportunities are abundant, as our tour operators will provide you with choice positioning for visual enhancements of your trip. For easy access, water-resistant storage is located directly under your seat for your cameras and bags. You are never far away from your valuables!

Responsible Whale Watching Click Here to learn about Responsible Whale Watching.

Whale Shots by Jo-Anne Lacroix

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The Whale Watch Operators Association logo is your assurance of a responsible company. Make sure you “LOOK Before You Book ! " to ensure you choose a company that abides by the official Whale Watching Guidelines.

Recent Sightings

December 21. 2011: Big news! It's been kept quiet to make sure all parties confirmed, but NOAA's NW Fisheries Science Center and the Center for Whale Research have confirmed that on December 17, 39-year old J16 (Slick) gave birth to a new baby calf in Puget Sound, probably only a few hours judging from the fresh fetal folds, before being seen and photographed. This makes J16's fifth calf since her first, J26, was born in 1991. She was the sixteenth J pod orca photographed and identified by Mike Bigg in 1972, and is among the oldest whose age is known exactly. Her matriline is known as the J7's after J16's late mother. Ths is great news for the holiday season!

December 5. 2011: The Christmas Season is here and so are the whales! There have been recent reports of orca whales (transient and resident) near Victoria! It is not as busy this time of year, so we haven't had a trip out for a few weeks but we are here and ready to go when you are! We have 1:00pm departures scheduled each day that are subject to weather and enough passengers interested in going out. Reservations are required. Call today for more information.

October 15. 2011: Incredible to think that it's already October... Saturday was sunny and calm. The morning boat came across Transient killer whales just South of Race Rocks and followed them West. Our afternoon encounter was quite lucky as we came across the T18s only minutes after leaving the harbour at Trial Island. We followed them to Discovery Island and then went to spend some time with Split fin, aka Bart, by Beaumont Shoal. This particular humpback seems to enjoy tail lobbing!!

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