Pacific Whale Watch Association 2022 Sightings and Sentinel Actions
2022 Summary
Humpback whales were the most frequently reported whales to the PWWA App in 2022, documented on 310 days. Bigg's killer whales were reported on 293 days, gray whales on 212 days, minke whales on 166 days, Southern Resident killer whales on 139 days, and Northern Resident killer whales on 55 days. Due to strict regulation of their viewing, Southern Resident killer whales were physically encountered by PWWA operators on far fewer days than they were reported in the PWWA App. 90% of all Southern Resident entries in the PWWA App were secondhand reports or reports logged by researchers, boater education groups, or shore-based observers.
During 2022, PWWA captains, naturalists, and crew documented 1,066 sentinel actions. The most frequently documented sentinel actions were reactive sentinel actions (440 actions, 41%) involving stopping, slowing, or diverting vessels traveling too fast and/or too close to whales. 300 sentinel actions (28%) were proactive sentinel actions to warn nearby vessels of whales in the area. Collection of potentially harmful marine debris, such as balloons and derelict fishing gear, accounted for 304 sentinel actions (29%), and incidents classified as "other", such as reporting entangled or potentially injured marine life, made up the remaining 20 sentinel actions (2%). For the 740 sentinel actions involving interactions with other vessels, PWWA members were successful in achieving a positive change in behavior in 74% of encounters. Recreational vessels were the most frequently contacted category of vessel, involved in 544 vessel-related sentinel actions (73.5%). June was the busiest month for sentinel actions in 2022, with 226 sentinel actions documented.
Law enforcement was present during at least one PWWA whale encounter on 95 days of 2022. Of 18,346 firsthand GPS entries for cetaceans in the PWWA App, law enforcement was reported as being present during 356 entries (1.94%). Law enforcement was most likely to be present with Northern Resident killer whales (present during 7.85% of encounters) followed by Southern Resident killer whales (7.19% of encounters), and Bigg's killer whales (3.13% of encounters). Law enforcement was least likely to be present during encounters with baleen species such as humpback whales (0.80% of encounters), minke whales (0.56% of encounters), and gray whales (0.11% of encounters). Law enforcement presence was observed most frequently during the peak whale watching months of June, July, and August.
Citation
Gless, E. J., & Krieger, J. (2023). Pacific Whale Watch Association 2022 sightings and sentinel actions report. Pacific Whale Watch Association.